The Law Ministry will not challenge the Supreme Court verdict that rules having sex with one's minor wife is rape , said a top Law Ministry official.
The court order will act as a deterrent against child marriage, as the punishment will now be much stricter than the violation of the child marriage law, he said.
On Tuesday, the apex court had delivered a landmark judgement where it criminalised sexual intercourse by a man with his minor wife, and it now attracts a jail term of 10 years under the India Penal Code (IPC) or a life term under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The court's ruling amended Exception 2 of Section 375 of the IPC that earlier exempted husbands from being tried for rape or for sexual intercourse with wives of 15 to 18 years of age. Now, such cases would face stringent punishment.
The amended provision reads: "Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape."
The Supreme Court bench, consisting of Justice Madan B Lokur, pointed out the inconsistencies between provisions of the POSCO Act and Exception 2 of the IPC, exempted husbands whose wives were between 15 and 18 years of age.
"Perhaps, there was a acknowledgement of 'social realities'. But now that has been corrected,"said a senior Law Ministry official.
