A court in Delhi issued an unimaginable ruling, saying that a husband that forces sex, “even if forcible, is not rape.”  It happened in the case of a woman who says she was drugged, taken out of town, married while still unconscious, and then raped.

The judge ruled that the victim of this heinous crime didn’t provide “clinching or convincing evidence on record to show that the accused had administered any stupefying substance.”  The defendant claimed the two were married in a ceremony performed before their families, but didn’t register it until the night the victims says the assault occurred.

What’s even more outrageous is that Judge Virender Bhat ruled from the special fast-track court that was established specifically to deal with rape cases.  Lawmakers raced to act after the notorious gang rape of a promising medical student who was gang raped and assaulted so badly, she had to be flown to Singapore because India’s medical system couldn’t handle the damage.  The crime inspired a massive movement of Indians who are sick of a despicable way women crime victims are treated by the establishment, and the way the nation seemed to tolerate unspeakable crime.  The victim died and eventually, four suspects were sentenced to death.

Bhat has a history of controversial rulings that are hostile to women.  Last October, he issued a judgment reading, “Girls are morally and socially bound not to indulge in sexual intercourse before a proper marriage, and if they do so, it would be to their peril and they cannot be heard crying later that it was rape.”