The Kerela High Court in a verdict has said that marital rape is a valid ground to claim divorce.
The court further added that if the law does not recognize marital rape under penal law, it can not inhibit the court from accepting the same as a form of cruelty to grant a divorce. The division bench of the Kerela High Court gave the verdict while rejecting the appeal of a husband against divorce. The court said that a woman’s body can not be used as personal property by the husband for committing sexual acts against her will, if he does so this can be termed as marital rape