Previous Year Question
In the context of Indian history, the Rakhmabai case of 1884 revolved around
women’s right to gain education
age of consent
restitution of conjugal rights
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
Rakhmabai was married to Dadaji Bhikaji when she was approximately eleven years old. On attaining adulthood, she refused to live with him.
In 1884, Dadaji Bhikaji instituted a suit in the Bombay High Court for the restitution of conjugal rights. He sought a judicial order requiring Rakhmabai to return to marital cohabitation. Therefore, statement 3 is correct.
Rakhmabai argued that she had not given meaningful consent to the marriage contracted during her childhood. The litigation consequently generated a major public debate concerning child marriage, marital consent and the age of consent. Therefore, statement 2 is correct.
The controversy strengthened the debate that preceded the Age of Consent Act of 1891. The Act raised the age of consent for girls from ten to twelve years; it did not declare every child marriage legally invalid.
Rakhmabai subsequently studied medicine in London and became a physician, but women’s right to obtain education was not the legal subject of this case. Therefore, statement 1 is incorrect.
Key distinction: The direct legal issue was restitution of conjugal rights; the wider social issue was child marriage and the age of consent; Rakhmabai’s later medical education was separate from the subject of the litigation.