Rahul Gandhi: Consent is an ‘underrated concept,’ should be ‘foregrounded’

As the Delhi High Court examines a slew of petitions calling for the criminalization of marital rape, Congressman Rahul Gandhi stated on Sunday that "consent is among society's most underrated concepts" that must be prioritized to safeguard women's safety.

The comments come as the high court hears petitions brought by NGOs RIT Foundation and All India Democratic Women's Association, as well as a man and a woman, seeking to overturn the Indian rape law's exception for husbands.

Some men's rights organizations have also filed petitions in opposition to the petitions attempting to overturn the exception, claiming that there was no question of discrimination and that Parliament had kept the clause in light of India's overall culture.

Rahul Gandhi said in a Tweet, "Consent is amongst the most underrated concepts in our society. It has to be foregrounded to ensure safety for women," Gandhi tweeted, using the hashtag 'MaritalRape'.

https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1482705493449756673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The Congress leader's tweet comes after the BJP-led Centre recently informed the Delhi high court that marital rape cannot be deemed a criminal offence until the Union government completes its consultations with all stakeholders.

The Centre, in a new affidavit submitted on Thursday, reiterated its previous position of looking into broad changes in the country's criminal law, while also stating that petitioners can give ideas to the authorities.

The Centre claimed, citing parliamentary standing panel findings from 2008 and 2010, that the requirement is to revamp criminal laws rather than make "piecemeal changes" to individual laws.

The affidavit was filed at a time when calls to make marital rape a crime is growing across the country.

The Gujarat high court stated in December of last year that it is "high time" that the constitutional legitimacy of the Indian Penal Code's (IPC) exception for marital rape be examined.

Notably, sexual intercourse or sexual actions between a man and his wife are not considered 'rape' under Exception 2 to Section 375 (rape) of the IPC.