This article is written by Barathwaz T and has further been updated by Gauri Gupta. It dives into the legality of incest in India, which is governed by various personal laws of different communities in India. Incest is a complex issue which is influenced by different social, cultural, and legal factors. The article deals with the ambiguities which revolve around the concept of incest in India and highlights the role of various legislation and socio-cultural factors that have played a role in developing the concept of incest in India.

Introduction

Incest is a harsh reality for many communities in India. It is prevalent within the safest environment of an individual’s family. The issue is rarely talked about, thus leading to a lack of awareness and understanding of the wrong. As a result, many victims suffer in silence with no clear legal provisions to safeguard the abuse. This gap in law has provided a protective shield to the offenders, making it difficult to break the cycle of incest in Indian households. 

Incest can be of various forms and can exist between an adult and a child, between siblings, and also between two consenting adults. The most prominent and widely reported form of incest exists between an adult and a child and is also known as juvenile incest.

Incest in ancient times developed as a medium to protect the royal lineage of the persons from the same kinship to avoid the dissemination of power amongst the non-royal clans. Soon it evolved into a prohibited form of relationship as it led to multifaceted genetic disabilities amongst the offsprings. 

But what is the status of such a relationship? Is it illegal? Will it lead to criminal action against such persons? All such questions shall be discussed in detail in the article.

Meaning and concept of incest

Incest is derived from the Latin phrase “incestus” which means someone who is “impure”. Johann Jakob Bachofen is considered to be one of the earliest scholars who opened a gateway for numerous theories on the origin of incest as a taboo in society. Furthermore, Emile Durkheim, a famous sociologist, firmly believed that the concept of an incestuous relationship was invented and was not an original form of organisation among humans. 

By the late 1960s, anthropologists were confident that the concept of incest was not universal in nature and was applied differently across different cultures. This portrays that the concept of incest is intertwined with the different cultures and moralities of various countries across the globe. However, one cause of concern which was common among all the nations was the biological risk associated with incest. However, in contemporary times, the personal laws of various religions and the national laws of different countries are governing the concept of incest, and such regulation is governed in light of the history, culture, and religious values of the different communities.  

Most of the countries have criminalised incestuous relationships, including Brunei, Iran, Nigeria, UAE, and Sudan. These countries provide a death penalty to all those who are convicted of the offence of incest. On the other hand, there are countries including India, Brazil, and Japan, which do not expressly prohibit an incestuous relationship. 

Ancient Indian sexuality and incestuous norms

Sexuality in ancient India was often characterised as multi-faceted and sometimes contradictory. The Indian subcontinent is one of the oldest places where sexuality has been discussed extensively by means of books and other sources. Nudity was accepted in many parts of Southern-India and, to some extent, in Northern-India as well, as depicted in Ajanta caves and some ancient sculptures.

The history of the Indian subcontinent is very complex to be understood because of its diversity and complex civilization structures that demand a great deal of attention to its evolutionary aspect. People from such important geography have given a great deal of importance to sexuality, which is intrinsically connected to religion. A lot of ancient texts, arts, games, and sculptures depict the importance that was associated with sexuality in ancient India. 

Kamasutra, an ancient text that delves into lovemaking, sexuality, and romantic relationships, is one of the oldest sex manuals that has ever been discovered; it explains in detail the positions to have sex. Ananga-Ranga is another significant sex manual that is male centred and talks about the pleasure zones and arousal points in detail.

This is not just it; the oldest text that discussed sexuality in detail was from India. The famous and ancient texts of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism were the earliest sources of sexuality in India, discussing in detail the moral aspects of sexuality, family, relationship and fertility prayers. These texts also give us a hint of ancient Hindus’ involvement in polygamous and polyandrous relationships. The intention being to protect the royal lineage, and the rest of the people were restricted to a monogamous relationship.

In most of the tropical regions, people did not cover their upper body due to climatic reasons. The historical shreds of evidence also represent that the wealthier section of the society wore gold and other ornaments to cover their upper body, and the rest of them survived with uncovered torsos covering only the lower body. 

The ancient Indian art produced during the 10th and 12th centuries freely expressed the idea of sexuality and lovemaking. Temple sculptures capturing all sex positions mentioned in Kamasutra were part of ancient India’s sexuality; experts also say that these sculptures were part of sexual education. Education here is used very loosely, as our modern understanding of education is totally different. Cheikh Nefzaoui’s Perfumed Garden is a classical sex manual of the Islamic religion. In the later part of the 16th century, various poets described the process of lovemaking and sex poetically, appealing to a great deal of audiences.

Such liberal ideology of the Indians started to evaporate at the advent of the colonial invasion of the sub-continent, where the western ideology of stigmatising public depiction of sexuality started to spread. During the revolt of 1857, when the victorian rules were infiltrated into the political domain of India, Indian liberalisation towards sexuality was frowned upon, ridiculed, and considered to be inferior. Paradoxically, this new outlook led to the promotion of education for women and a puritanical attitude towards sexuality even within marriage.

Incest as a moral wrong

Incest is considered as a moral wrong mainly for two reasons:

• The genetic risk associated with a child arising out of an incestuous relationship, and 
• That incest might lead to a massive fallout between family members.

Some people also believe that incestuous relationships can lead to the exploitation of power within a family, as there may be cases where the consent given for an incestuous relationship might be due to coercion. An illustration of the same is where a person in authority, such as a relative who is in charge of the financial, educational, and social well being of a child, uses his influence to take the consent of the child to engage in a sexual relationship with her and manipulate her by kicking her out of the house and not paying her tuition fee if she refuses. 

Cultural and societal norms also play a huge role in declaring incest as a moral wrong. Incest is considered a taboo in almost all the societies, mainly because it threatens to destroy the foundation of kinship on which the society is based. Incestuous relationships are harmful for an individual as well as the entire community. This is because incest has a direct impact on the stability and harmony of a society.

It is also argued that if an incestuous relationship exists between two consensual people, then it cannot be called a moral wrong. The reason behind this is that if both the parties are aware of the risks involved with an incestuous relationship and they still engage in such a relationship with their own free will and without coercion, then there should be no objection to such a relationship.  

Incest as a crime in India

An act becomes a crime when it is expressly declared to be a crime under the legislation, not just because of an act which is immoral or socially tabooed. Incest is not a crime under any legislation as of now. There is no specific legislation or penal provisions that expressly declares an incestuous relationship to be a criminal activity, but they might attract provisions for other sexual offences like sodomy, rape etc. Therefore, a person cannot be held criminally liable or punishable for involving in an incestuous relationship, despite it being socially unacceptable and frowned upon.

Hence, it is not an offence if two consenting adults get involved in an incestuous relationship. They do not offend any legal provision by doing so but might offend the sentiments of society at large. Also, some personal laws condemn the act of incest to a certain degree.

Applicability of laws on Incest in India

In 2009, an incident in Mumbai where a 60-year old father raped both his daughters for more than nine years, shook the conscience of the whole country. The perpetrator was charged only for rape under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as “IPC” and now Section 64(f) of the Bhartatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which is hereinafter referred as the “BNS”). A man who forced himself on his daughter for more than nine years can’t be held for incest, as the penal law does not recognize it as an offence. 

The apathy of law in serious regimes like incest would infiltrate a silent message of acceptance of such act. Social workers argue that this apathy of law is a portrayal of society’s turndown and refusal to concede that incest exists. The situation is not gaugeable because most of the time the child’s interests are sacrificed to protect family values. Many cases go unreported. However, to an extent, a report by the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights has shown that from 2020 to 2021, there was a significant increase of 16.2% in the crimes against children in India, with Delhi being on the top of the list with 7118 child abuse complaints.

Furthermore, another report by the National Crime Records Bureau titled “Crime in India 2022”  has provided that every hour a sexual crime is reported against seven children, with 4 of these crimes being rape in 2022. 

However, there is no legislation or provision of any statute that penalizes or recognizes incest as a crime.

The Parliament of India has time and again introduced several Bills apart from personal laws of Hindus, Muslims, and other communities, to place a check on the practice of incest. These include:
1. Incest Offence Bill, 2009: It was introduced in the Rajya Sabha and aims to punish offences arising out of incest.

2. Incest and Sexual Abuse in Family (Offences) Bill, 2010: It was also introduced which aimed at defining offenses of incest and domestic sexual abuse and also providing a machinery to punish the acts of incest and domestic abuse. 

However, none of these bills have been passed by the Parliament yet.Therefore, incest in India is governed by other relevant provisions such as Sections 5 (iv) and (v) of the HMA which provides for sapinda and prohibitory relations respectively. The same is punished under Section 18 of the HMA.  

Some statistics about incest

The RAHI, (Recovering and Healing from Incest) is a Delhi based NGO in one of its report titled “Voices from the Silent Zone” has revealed that more than 3/4th of the women in the middle and upper-class household in India are abused by incestuous activities. The perpetrators at most of the time are the uncle, brother, domestic help or any other person with whom the women develop a fiduciary relationship. The founder of the firm also comments that “lacuna in the law regarding these tabooed abuses is a reflection of the society which is immature to own up to it, and this also sends a message that it is not serious an offence to commit.

A study conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Science in 2018 on the abuse and safety of child and adults in East Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh provided that young children feared corporal punishment. The study also revealed that girls faced sexual abuse in both public and private spaces, and the lack of support and social stigma isolated these girls facing abuse.

Vidya Reddy, founder of Tulir-CPHCSA (Centre for Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse) a Chennai based NGO has explained that abusers are not shadowy and rugged-looking people who are pedophilic in nature but usually it is a person whom the child trusts and that person without any misgiving or reticence indulge in sexual activity with the child with whom the child shares a fiduciary relationship.

Incest and Hindu marriages

In India, marriages are governed by the personal laws of each community. For Hindus, these laws are provided under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter the “HMA”). The HMA under Section 5 lays down the conditions of a valid marriage and also provides for certain incestuous marriages under Section 5(iv) and Section 5(v) to be void ab initio. The provisions provide for prohibited degrees of relationship and sapinda relationship, which are both incestuous in nature and thus are void ab initio. 

Void marriages

Under Section 5 of the HMA, certain essential elements of a valid marriage are outlined. These include:

• The parties should not have a living spouse.
• Parties should not be of unsound mind.
• Parties should be major.
• Parties should not be within the prohibited degrees of relationship. 

A marriage is void as per the law if these conditions are violated.  

The following provisions of the law deals with incest in India:

Degrees of prohibited relationship

Under Section 5(iv) of the HMA, both parties shall not be under the prohibitory degree of relationship. A marriage between two such individuals is considered to be void ab initio. 

The parties are considered to be in a prohibited degree of relationship if they are:

• Lineal ascendants to each other. 

Examples: If A and B are mother and son, respectively.

If A and B are grandfather and granddaughter, respectively.

• Spouse of Lineal ascendants or descendants / Uterine blood relationship.

Example:  If A and B are mother-in-law and son-in-law, respectively.

If A and B are step-father and step-daughter, respectively.

• Siblings and spouses of siblings.

Example: If A and B are brother and sister, respectively.

If A and B are brother-in-law and sister-in-law, respectively

• Siblings of lineal ascendants or descendants.

Examples: If A and B are brothers of the grandfather and granddaughter, respectively. Uncle & niece; Aunt & nephew.

In the case of Sanjiv Kumar Mahato vs. Rekha Mahato (2018), the Jharkhand High Court had to deal with the issue regarding whether the petitioner getting married to his own bhanji would fall within the degrees of prohibited relationship. The appellant in this case was seeking an annulment of the marriage on the grounds that the relationship was within the prohibited degree. The court dismissed the said appeal, stating that there was no proof of the same that had been provided to the court.

However, this Section shall not have a super riding effect on the established customary practice of the community to which the spouses fall under. 

In other words, Section 5(iv) provides for an exception, which is the well-established custom of a party which allows such an incestuous marriage. An example of the same is the case law of Shakuntala Devi vs. Amar Nath (1982), wherein the Punjab-Haryana High Court decided on the issue of whether two people can marry within the prohibited degree of relationship. 

The court held that if two people are marrying within the prohibited degree of relationship, then they must be able to show that doing so is an established custom. In the present case, the petitioner wanted an annulment of the marriage on the grounds that it was within the prohibited degree of relationship, but the court held that the parties fell under the community of Aroras, who have a custom of having a liberal stance about prohibited degrees between spouses.

Sapinda incestuous relationship

Section 5(v) of the HMA provides that the bride and the bridegroom shall not be under the sapinda form of relationship. If such parties get married, it will be a void marriage under the HMA.

A Sapinda relationship exists between:

• Five generations from the lineal ascent of the paternal side, including the fifth generation; and
• Three-generations from the lineal ascent of the maternal side, including the third generation. Usually, the line being traced upwards has to consider the person involved as the first generation. 

Example: If the bridegroom is the progeny of any lineal descendants of five generations from the father’s side, including the fifth generation, or three generations from the mother’s side including the third generation and vice-versa. In this case, both the parties to the marriage are considered as “sapindas” and their marriage is prohibited under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. 

Similar to that of the prohibited degree of relationships, marriages within a sapinda relationship may be permitted if there is a long, well established customary practice allowing the same. 

In the case Arun Laxmanrao Navalkar vs. Meena Arun Navalkar (2006), one of the issues before the Bombay High Court was whether a sapinda marriage can be nullified under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The court held that unless a customary practice for sapinda marriage can be established, the marriage would be void. In the present case, the court ruled that the burden of proof shall be on the wife to prove that there was a customary practice in her community for sapinda marriage. The court in the present case was not satisfied by the evidence submitted by the wife and held that the marriage shall be void.

The Delhi Court in the case of Neetu Grover vs. Union of India and Ors (2024), observed that the Hindu Marriage Act prohibits marriage between two Hindu adults if they are sapindas of each other. The same is an incestuous relationship and thus void under Hindu law. However, the exception to the same is the custom or the usage governing these parties. The court observed that it is important to balance the choice of an individual to marry with that of the boundaries of law and the interests of society. 

Thus, the Hindu law prohibits incestuous relationships under Section 5(iv) and Section 5(v) of the HMA. The rationale behind the same is the preservation of the family structure, prevention of the exploitation of the victims of an incestuous relationship, especially in cases where one has dominance over the victims, prevention of the likelihood of genetic disorders in the offspring, and to enforce the cultural and ethical standards of a moral society. 

Muslim marriages and incest 

Muslim marriages are governed by the personal laws, which are specific to each denomination, Shia and Sunni, within Islam. These denominations differ in their political ideologies and also have different interpretations of the Muslim jurisprudence. This includes the marriage laws. Thus, both the Shia and Sunni schools of law interpret incestuous relationships differently, and the same is prohibited on different grounds under both the schools.

Marriages are divided into the following three categories under the Muslim jurisprudence:

• Shahih: A valid marriage.
• Fasid: An irregular form of marriage.
• Batil: A void marriage.

Unlike the Sunni school of thought, the Shia school of thought does not differentiate between void and irregular marriages. However, what is common in both the schools of thought is a complete prohibition on incestuous relationships.

Grounds for prohibition of incestuous relationships under shia law

The Shia school of thought has completely prohibited marriage on the following three grounds:

Consanguinity

Consanguinity refers to blood relationships, and if the bride and bridegroom are related to each other by blood, their marriage is prohibited. These include: 

Men are prohibited from marrying:

• Their mother or grandmother, however distant.
• Their daughter or granddaughter, however distant.
• Their uterine or consanguine sister.
• Their niece and grandniece.
• Their parental or maternal uncle and great uncle.

Affinity

Affinity refers to relationships which arise from marriage. A man is prohibited from marrying a woman who is related to him through his wife. The same will be applicable even if the marriage is based on adultery or is invalid. The same rule is applicable to women with respect to their husbands. 

Men are prohibited from marrying:

• Their wife’s mother or grandmother.
• Their wife’s daughter or granddaughter.
• Their father’s wife or their grandfather’s wife.
• Their son’s wife or grandson’s wife.

Women are prohibited from marrying:

• Their husband’s father or grandfather.
• Their husband’s son or grandson. 

Fosterage

Fosterage is a unique form of relationship which is recognised in Islam. It refers to a relationship wherein a child was fed by a woman other than his biological mother before the age of two years. Such relationships create the same prohibition on marriage as blood relationships. 

Men are prohibited from marrying:

• Their foster mother
• The wife of their foster son.
• Their foster sister.

Grounds for prohibition of incestuous relationship under sunni law

The Sunni school of thought has the same prohibitions on incestuous marriages as under the Shia School. However it provides for a few exceptions to the rule of fosterage. It provides that a Sunni man can contract a valid form of marriage with his:

• Sibling’s foster-mother.
• Foster sister’s mother.
• Foster daughter.
• Foster sister.

The Shia school does not recognise these exceptions and any marriage among foster relations is void.

Special Marriage Act and incest

The Special Marriage Act, 1954, was enacted to regulate and govern marriages that could not be solemnised due to the different types of religious customs that govern interfaith and inter caste marriages. The Act, like all the other personal laws prohibits marriages between blood relations. Section 4 of the Act says that the parties to marriage should not be within the prohibited degree of relationship. It prohibits marriage between:

• Relationship by half or uterine blood as well as by full blood;
• Illegitimate blood relationship as well as legitimate;
• Relationship by adoption as well as by blood.

The Act expressly declares that marriage between such relations shall be null and void. Refer to Schedule I on the Act for further clarity and detailed list of the prohibited degree of relationship.

Juvenile incest in India

Juvenile incest refers to a sexual relationship with a minor. It raises significant questions on the issues of protection of children and the conduct of society towards protecting those who are vulnerable. Currently, there are no laws which regulate juvenile incest in India. The criminal laws are based on the “harm principle” which provides that when an action of a person causes harm to another, it should be corrected through a remedy. This remedy is punishment in the form of imprisonment and fines under criminal laws. Even the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 fails to recognize sexual abuse due to incest. Furthermore, Section 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956, punishes indulgence into child prostitution, but does not deal with sexual abuse. 

On the other hand, under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), a sexual relationship with a minor is a punishable offence as under Chapter II.  What is important for us to understand that an incestuous relationship with a minor is a more grave and wrongful act than committing a rape on the minor. This is because the degree of harm and wrong committed against their personal dignity is even higher in such cases. Thus, it is important to punish an incestuous relationship with a minor more severely than rape. 

The importance of introducing a law on protecting minors from incest lies not only on the increasing number of cases of an incestuous relationship with a minor but also in India’s obligation under Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). India is a signatory to the Convention and thus has an obligation to ensure the protection of children in India. A legislation which punishes those convicted of juvenile incest is extremely important for eradicating the offence of incest from society and to provide justice to the victim.

Status of children born out of an incestuous relationship

Muslim law

Under Muslim law, a child born out of an incestuous relationship is considered to be illegitimate. This illegitimacy can arise out of any invalid form of marriage, not just incestuous relationships.

All illegitimate children born out of invalid marriage under Muslim law are entitled to maintenance and inheritance; this position has been clearly specified in various sources of Muslim law.

Under Muslim personal laws, the law with respect to maintenance can be summarised in the following points:

• Hedaya: It means “guidance” and provides that a child must be provided with the necessities of life, including food, lodging, education, etc.
• Fatwa -i- alamgir:  It provides that an illegitimate child must be provided with the basic necessities of life. The authoritative texts of Islam have elaborated on the concept of inheritance and the need to provide children with the basic necessities of life; however, in practice, it is just limited to safe and clean food. 
• The common law principle of “Nullius Filius,” which means a “son of no one,” refuses these basic rights to an illegitimate child.
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (previously the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973): Section 144 of the BNSS (previously Section 125 of CrPC) clarifies the ambiguity in the contradicting laws, wherein on the one hand the hedaya provides that the father has to provide for the basic necessities of his illegitimate child and the Quran, on the other hand,  limits such basic necessities to food and settles the law regarding the maintenance of illegitimate children. It puts an obligation on the father to maintain his illegitimate child under Section 144 of the BNSS.

In the case of Sukha vs. Ninni (1965), the issue before the Rajasthan High Court was whether a contract for maintenance with a Muslim father was enforceable. The arguments presented before the court were that such a contract is void under Section 23 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. This is because such a contract would be against the provisions contained under Muslim law. The court held that such a contract is not violative of Muslim law as the maintenance to be given under Section 125 of the CrPC is in harmony with the public policy.

The settled position of law regarding inheritance is that:

1. Shia law: The Shia law adheres to the principle of “Nullius Fillius” strictly and does not allow the scope for any kind of maintenance under any Muslim law. In Shia law, the illegitimate child can inherit neither from his mother nor from his father.

2. Hanafi law: The position of Hanafi law is not so strict in this sense. The illegitimate child has to be left in the care of the mother until the age of 7. After which the child can inherit from his mother’s side, but the father has no obligation towards the child.

Hindu law

Any marriage in violation of the conditions of the marriage under Hindu law is void, and any child born out of such a relationship is considered to be illegitimate. Only certain rights of such a child is recognised, but the Marriage laws (Amendment) Act, 1976, which amended Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, rendered the status of legitimacy to all children born out of a marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act, irrespective of the fact that such a child is born out of a null and void marriage.

In the case of Jinia Keotin and Ors. vs. Kumar Sitaram Manjhi and Ors. (2002), the Supreme Court of India examined the issue regarding the ambiguity surrounding the term “property” given in Section 3 of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976. It was argued that the term “property” included both self acquired and ancestral property of the parents. The court held that the term “property” shall only include the self acquired property and not ancestral property when it came to succession or inheritance by children arising out of an incestuous relationship.

In the case of Revanasiddappa vs. Mallikarjun (2023), the Supreme Court of India held that the case of Jinia Keotin and Ors. vs. Kumar Sitaram Manjhi and Ors. (2002) was decided by using narrow interpretation, which was not the correct interpretation, and held that the term “property” shall also include all property of the parents, including the ancestral property, as it was not the child’s fault that he/she was born out of a void marriage.

Need for incest law

It is significant to establish clear regulations and penalties on incest to protect the victims from the abuse of trust and power. It is also important to foster a safe environment for children and promote the accountability of their guardians. India lacks legislation to regulate incestuous reasons, and the following reasons clearly explain the need for such laws:

• Incestuous relationships create power imbalances, especially within families. This leads to coercion, manipulation, and abuse of the victim. The taboo surrounding incest has led to division of the families, and thus, there is a need to criminalise the same to ensure stability and social order. What is often missed in cases of incestuous relationships is the emotional abuse of the victim, which involves shame, guilt, and trauma often leading to lifelong psychological effects and, in most cases, suicide.
• The offspring of an incestuous relationship have a higher risk of inheriting genetic disorders due to the higher percentage of their DNA resulting in genetic mutations and thus exposing the life of the child to a life of serious diseases, including birth defects and mental health issues.
• Incest is not only considered to be an unlawful act but is also a moral and ethical wrong in most of the relations and communities. Thus, in order to respect the moral values of such groups and to reinforce the ethics for the future generations, it is important to enact laws prohibiting incest.
• Most of the countries across the globe have laws prohibiting incest. Therefore, in order to ensure alignment with the international standards on human rights, the protection of women, and the protection of children, it is important to introduce laws on incest.

Thus, it is the need of the hour to introduce laws prohibiting incest in India to safeguard the individuals and ensure alignment with international practices. Further, it will ensure that punishment is provided to those convicted of the offence, which will be in conformity with the judgements of the various High Courts, which provide that incestuous relationships are violative of one’s right to dignity, especially in cases where it is non-consensual in nature. 

Conclusion

The Indian legal framework does not provide for any legislation or a provision that punishes or recognizes incest as a crime. Where on the one hand, other countries like the US, UK, Germany have made strict punishments and laws against incest, India still lacks such laws. The laws of incest were enacted in the United Kingdom as early as in 1980. An incestuous relationship is a crime and a penal offence in the UK. The US has different terms of imprisonment in different states, with a maximum of up to 20 years in Massachusetts. It is for 5 years in Hawaii.

Some countries have even diluted the laws against incest; they see it as a form of liberalisation. Sexual activity with close relations used to be an offence in many countries, of which many countries now have taken a liberal stance. Incestuous activity which is involved with a minor is still disgusted in many such countries that have taken a liberal stance regarding incest.

The view in India regarding incest is that incest is never consensual; it is often an expression of force and dominance by the individuals. Power acts as a trigger that infiltrates incest within the family. Denial and disbelief are mostly the reactions when it comes to incest, as the reputation of the family is considered on a higher pedestal than the interest of the child. It is high time India recognises incest as a crime.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is incest a crime in India?

At the moment, there are no specific laws governing incest in India. However, in the contemporary jurisprudence, incest is considered and treated to be rape. In case of a minor, an incestuous relationship is punished under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

What are the effects of incest?

Victims of incest can get affected psychologically, emotionally and socially and it can be detrimental to their well-being. Such victims might suffer from various mental disorders such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They might also fall prey to negative self image and guilt due to incest related offences. There have been cases where the victim might develop traumatic bonding with their abuser and also face difficulty in forming healthy relationships in the future. Further, they might also have to deal with feelings of isolation, stigma and abandonment due to incest.

What is the legal status of cross-cousin marriage in South India?

It is not uncommon in South India to come across communities that practise consanguineous marriages (a marriage wherein two people are related to each other by blood such as second cousins or close relatives). There are restrictions that are prevalent in these communities as well, like they cannot marry within the same Gotra but they are allowed to marry their first cousins. In South Indian communities, a marriage between uncle and his niece is also not uncommon. However, the Hindu Marriage Act prohibits marriage between cousins for Hindus unless it can be proved that doing so is a regional custom.

References

• https://www.domesticshelters.org/articles/identifying-abuse/when-incest-accompanies-domestic-violence
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337198918_INCESTUOUS_RAPE_A_SOCIAL_STIGMA_NEED_FOR_STRINGENT_LAWS_IN_INDIA
• http://www.jstor.org/stable/43951795 
• https://www.ijfmr.com/papers/2023/6/10652.pdf 
• https://www.ijfmr.com/papers/2023/6/10652.pdf 
• https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol.%2022%20Issue5/Version-1/D2205014146.pdf 

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