Allahabad High Court Quashes Marital Rape Conviction, States Independent Thought Ruling Not Retroactive

The Allahabad High Court overturned a 2007 marital rape conviction, holding that sexual intercourse with a wife above 16 years of age before the 2017 Independent Thought v. Union of India ruling did not amount to rape.

The Court relied on the Supreme Court’s 2017 judgment, which read down Exception 2 to Section 375 IPC by raising the age from 15 to 18 years.

The Court clarified that the change applied prospectively.

Considering the incident took place in 2005, it fell within the earlier Exception and could not be prosecuted as rape under the Indian Penal Code.

[Islam @ Paltoo v State of UP]