The Gujarat high court has denied anticipatory bail to a wealthy businessman accused of repeatedly raping his wife and subjecting her to extreme cruelty.
It brings into focus the Indian laws on marital intimacy that escapes a clear definition.
It may be recalled that courts in the past ruled that denying sexual relations or refusing to consummate a marriage can amount to “mental cruelty.”
In 2024, the Madhya Pradesh High Court held that a spouse’s refusal to engage in sexual relations “amounts to mental cruelty” and can justify divorce.
Given that decisions on intimacy vary in India, cases like that involving this rich businessman make abuse within marriages complex.
Back to the present case, the concerned person is a “multi-millionaire” from Gurugram.
The woman, according to reports, alleged forced unnatural sex. She also accused him of extreme cruelty during the marriage. The complainant is a resident of Ahmedabad. She approached the detection of crime branch. She named her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law. She alleged sustained sexual assault by her husband. She accused her father-in-law of molestation. She alleged harassment over dowry by all three. She said her husband branded her private parts with lit cigarettes.
The complaint said the marriage took place in 2022. It was the woman’s first marriage. It was the man’s second. She alleged his first wife had also made similar accusations. Anticipating arrest, the husband moved the high court.
He sought anticipatory bail. Among other details reported in the media, he said he was a business tycoon and multi-millionaire, with a large bungalow in Gurugram.
He said he ran corporate guest houses. He denied all allegations.
According to reports, he claimed the case arose from matrimonial discord. The wife’s lawyer opposed the plea, however. The lawyer cited forced unnatural sex.
The lawyer also said the husband failed to protect the complainant from alleged exploitation by her father-in-law.
Rejecting the plea, Justice D A Joshi said marriage does not mean automatic sexual consent. “No doubt, marriage was seen as an automatic grant of sexual consent for decades. However, modern legal frameworks increasingly recognise the bodily freedom of an individual, even within a marital relationship,” the court said.
The judge said intimacy must be consensual and respectful. The court said forced unnatural sex causes immense physical pain, besides mental and emotional trauma.
Further, the court said no woman would raise such allegations lightly.
It highlighted that women come forward only when abuse crosses tolerance. The court noted the accused married a second time. It said his first wife had also made similar allegations.
Calling him a repeat offender, the high court said the case was not a simple matrimonial dispute. It said the allegations couldn’t be papered over as they went beyond those usually made in such cases.
Also Read: Gujarat High Court: Hindu Marriages In India Cannot Be Dissolved Abroad https://www.vibesofindia.com/gujarat-high-court-hindu-marriages-in-india-cannot-be-dissolved-abroad/
