UNDERSTANDING CONSENT: INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN MARITAL RAPE EXCEPTION AND DATA PROTECTION FRAMEWORKS

AUTHOR – SARANG HARISH, STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF LAW, CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY)

BEST CITATION – SARANG HARISH, UNDERSTANDING CONSENT: INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN MARITAL RAPE EXCEPTION AND DATA PROTECTION FRAMEWORKS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (3) OF 2026, PG. 270-278, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

This study provides an evaluative review of consent and bodily autonomy law in two contexts: marital relations and data protection. The study contends that although consent is an important dimension of human dignity and a human right, it remains nebulous and compromised by imbalances of structural power. The central argument is that the traditional legal doctrine of implied marital consent, which historically diminished a person’s autonomy within marriage, has a modern-day counterpart in the concept of digital consent that is often a “fiction of autonomy” due to the unclear terms of service. By reviewing the evolution of judicial interpretations in India, including landmark cases that upheld and limited bodily autonomy, and by comparing with international law that has abolished the defence of marital rape, this paper demonstrates the urgent need for reform of the legal doctrine. In conclusion, a complete shift in relation to consent jurisprudence is necessary by reimagining consent not as a formality but also as a fundamental principle regarding protecting individual dignity and autonomy in all aspects of life.

Keywords: Bodily Autonomy, Consent, Marital Rape, Jurisprudence, Data Protection.