When she fought for her Consent.

As one traverses around Mumbai, one cannot help but admire the city’s archaic Gothic buildings sprinkled across the city as repositories of its colonial history. Unlike other structures that need hagiographies, the Bombay High Court lets its tradition do the talking through the indelible ink of judgments. 

One such case was heard in the humid month of September in 1885, which had an unparalleled effect on women’s rights not only in India, but all of the Commonwealth.

On 21st September 1885, Justice Robert Hill Pinhey, an Englishman, cloaked in the conviction to deliver justice had made a remark that seeped through the grand portico of the building and riled up the nationalists of the time against the crown for interfering with the local culture. 

“It seems to me that it would be a barbarous, a cruel, a revolting thing to do to compel a young lady….to go to a man whom she dislikes, in order that he may cohabit with her against her will….”

he said as he heard the case of Rukhmabai.

Dadaji Bhikaji vs Rukhmabai

The case of Dadaji Bhikaji vs Rukhmabai (1885) was for the restitution of conjugal rights. Rukhmabai was only 11 years old when she was married to Dadaji Bhikaji Raut, a cousin of her stepfather. 

Following the culture of the time, she continued to live in her house and the marriage was not consummated until she reached puberty. 

Having reached puberty, her husband asked her to move in with him to consummate the marriage. However, Rukhmabai, a young girl with abundant aspirations refused to do so. 

Incensed, Dadaji knocked on the door of the judiciary for the restitution of conjugal rights, sending her family a legal notice. 

It was during the hearing of this case that Rukhmabai took the onus to be a proponent of the freedom to choose her partner. 

She picked up the pseudonym ‘A Hindu Lady’ and wrote letters to The Times of India talking about the status of women in society. It was both a brave and strategic move.

The Times of India was read in the top echelons of British India, even by the English officials of Bombay. This way, she hoped that her voice would reach the quaint verandahs of the officials’ abode while her lawyers fought her case in the High Court. 

She lamented in one of her letters:

“This wicked practice of child marriage has destroyed the happiness of my life. It comes between me and the things which I prize above all others – study and mental cultivation.”

Her prayers did not fall on deaf ears. 

While some orthodox organisations opposed her, several renowned names came to her defense. In fact, Behramji Malabari and Pandita Ramabai formed the Rakhmabai Defense Committee to help her through this legal battle.  

The case stayed open for around 4 years, until Bhikaji, bogged down by the mounting costs of the case opted for an out-of-court settlement.

Set free from the unjust fetters of the case, she decided to pursue her education further and soon became the first practicing lady doctor in India.

But her case became a catalyst for women's rights worldwide and set the ball rolling for what would soon change how marriages were conducted in colonial India.

Age of Consent Act, 1891

While Justice Pinhey was hearing the case, he remarked that it was regretful that the legal system allowed restitution of conjugal rights as a simple replication of what was the practice in England, with no adaptation to the Indian culture where child marriages were common.

He argued that the suit would not have been admissible under the Hindu Law. 

As Rukhmabai’s letters were published in India, they created ripples across the Indian Ocean.

Max Muller, a venerable Indologist of the time argued that Rukhmabai’s education gave her the power to decide what was best suited for her. 

However, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a fierce nationalist supported Bhikaji’s claims and argued that Western education had corrupted Rukhmabai’s mind. Further, he contended that the British crown should not interfere with Hindu rights and customs. 

It is sometimes claimed that the case even reached Queen Victoria, when Rukhmabai wrote to her. 

The furore over the case led to a growing recognition of women's and children's rights in British India. It became one of the basis for the passing of the Age of Consent Act, of 1891. 

The law was signed by the government of Lord Landsdowne in 1891, increasing the age of consent for consummation of marriage from 10 to 12 across British India by making amendments to the statute. 

While it was subjected to piercing criticism from revivalist organisations in India as they deemed it to tamper with Hindu traditions, it found support from the reformers of the time. 

Regardless, the case was remarkable for the reason that it saw a young woman fight for her freedom, so she could fulfill her aspirations and choose a partner of her own volition- a freedom that is sadly still coveted by some young girls in India of 2025.