The Kerala High Court has highlighted the need for gender-neutral rape laws, questioning the current legal framework that prosecutes men but not women for false promises of marriage leading to sexual relationships. Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque made this observation during a child custody battle involving a divorced couple.
Justice Mustaque pointed out the inconsistency in Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with the punishment for rape. He noted that while a man can be prosecuted for making a false promise of marriage to obtain consent for sex, a woman cannot be prosecuted for the same act.
“Section 376 is not a gender-neutral provision. If a woman tricks a man under false promise of marriage, she can’t be prosecuted. But a man can be prosecuted for the same offence. What kind of law is this? It should be gender-neutral,” remarked Justice Mustaque.
During the hearing, the woman’s lawyer mentioned that the man had previously been accused of rape based on unsubstantiated claims of sex under a false promise of marriage. The man’s counsel argued that the allegations were unfounded. This prompted Justice Mustaque to express concern about the gender bias in current rape laws.
Justice Mustaque was also part of a bench earlier this year that delivered a verdict recognizing the gender-specific nature of rape laws. The court observed that under the current statutory provisions, a woman cannot be punished for obtaining consent to sex through a false promise of marriage, whereas a man can be prosecuted under similar circumstances.
The verdict stated, “It is to be remembered that the statutory provisions of the offence of rape as understood in the Indian Penal Code are not gender-neutral. A woman, on a false promise of marrying and having a sexual relationship with a man, with the consent of the latter obtained on such false promise, cannot be punished for rape. However, a man on a false promise of marrying a woman and having a sexual relationship with the woman would lead to the prosecution’s case of rape.”
The court further clarified that merely reneging on a promise to marry does not amount to rape. For a man to be prosecuted, the prosecution must prove that he never intended to marry the woman and deceived her into consenting to the sexual act.
This call for gender-neutral rape laws aims to address the legal disparity and ensure equality in the judicial system, emphasizing that both men and women should be held accountable under the law for similar offenses.
