Husband convicted of rape despite wife's consent for sex

London, April 25 (IANS) A British court has ruled a man could be convicted of rape even if the woman agreed to have sex.

A court headed by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, ruled in a sign-post decision that a man would still be guilty if he did something she asked him not to, Daily Mail reported Thursday.

The High Court ordered the director of public prosecutions to have a rethink over a decision not to prosecute a man accused of raping his wife.

The woman had consented to sex, but only on condition that her husband withdrew as she did not want to become pregnant.

However, at the last minute the husband told her he was not withdrawing and told her "because you are my wife and I'll do it if I want".

The woman did not want another child. She turned pregnant after the incident in February 2010.

In his landmark decision Lord Judge ruled since the man, the woman's husband under Sharia law, did not stick to his part of the pre-sex deal, he could be held guilty of rape.

Its becoming a tough world for men.

With the law so favouring women in India, women nowadays taking advantage of it to harass men in multiple ways.

They are filing false cases against husbands and their families for even minor grouses.

They are marrying and then not living with their husband and giving him conjugal rights.

When the husband requests for divorce, they demand large sum of money.

Many of them do not want to marry as they are already into affairs with other men in their localities.

They marry under pressure from their families who fear their reputation would be sullied in society..

These women marry and then do not go to their in-laws houses or with their husbands.

Repeated requests by the in-laws and the husband have no effect on her or her family.

Finally the husband suggests that if she will not come, then they should get divorced.

The girl then files a case of torture and marital harassment against the husband and the in-laws and then demands a substantial amount, running into several lakhs to give divorce.

I have come across two cases recently.

The first was in the papers in Bangalore in February, when I was there.

The girl was having an affair before her marriage which she continued even after her marriage.

She preferred to stay at her parent's place instead of her husbands.

When the husband found out, he demanded divorce.

The woman demanded Rs 5.00 lakhs for giving the divorce.

Since the husband could not afford that amount and feeling the injustice, he murdered his wife.

The second involves a relative of mine whose marriage I attended in February 24, 2012 in Bikanir, Rajasthan.

She stayed for a period of 21 days between her marriage and 19th May, 2012 when she returned to Bikanir, for the third time.

25.2.2013 to 1.3.2012, 3.4.2012 to 14.4.2012, 13.5.2012 to 19.5.2012.

During this period the couple did not have any physical relations as she avoided the same, giving one excuse or another.

Thereafter, in spite of repeated requests she did not go to her husbands place.

It was then that my relatives became suspicious and made enquiries and found out that she was having pre-marital affair which was continuing after the marriage and that is why she was not coming to her husband.

My relatives then requested her father to advise the girl to give a divorce.

The girl then filed a case of torture and harassment against the husband's family.

At that point she did not file the case against the husband as he was out of India.

Their demand then came that they would give divorce if they were given Rs Nine lakhs in cash.

My relatives agreed to even that, since they wanted to disossociate themselves from the girls family and move on in life.

However, the girls family, still have not agreed to the divorce, probably thinking of demanding even more.

The stalemate is continuing.

Here, I would request the legal luminaries amongst for suggestions as to what the boys family should do in the above case.

I would also request our readers to write about similar cases which they know of so that these can be sent to the Chief Justice of India for bringing about balance so that men too are not harassed.