Senior Congress leader and parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor on Monday condemned a disturbing incident from Bihar, where a man was arrested for allegedly raping his wife along with an accomplice. Tharoor reiterated his call to end the “marital rape exception” in Indian law, highlighting the gaps that protect husbands even in brutal situations.

The incident, reported from Patna, involved a man and his friend allegedly breaking into his estranged wife’s home in the early hours of August 11, 2024, while she was asleep with her children. According to police, the husband reportedly recorded the assault and threatened to set the house on fire when his wife resisted, fleeing with cash and her phone.

During police interrogation, the husband admitted that he had married the woman ten years ago, but the relationship deteriorated. He later married another woman, and when his first wife opposed the second marriage, he allegedly took revenge through this violent act. Authorities are continuing the investigation and are searching for the accomplice who remains at large.

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Tharoor, in response, emphasized the injustice of the marital rape exception, stating that current laws allow perpetrators to evade punishment simply because they are legally married. He wrote on X, “This is a stark example of what is wrong with our rape law as it currently stands. The marital rape exception must go!”

Earlier this month, Tharoor had introduced a Private Member’s Bill to amend the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), calling for criminalisation of marital rape. He stressed that “marriage cannot negate a woman’s right to grant or deny consent” and underlined the urgency for legal reforms to ensure bodily autonomy and dignity for women within marriage.

The Bihar case has reignited public debate over marital rape laws in India, drawing attention to systemic gaps in protecting women from violence within marriage. Lawmakers and activists argue that urgent legislative action is needed to align India’s legal framework with constitutional principles and human rights standards.

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