Archive · 7 Sep 2026
Supreme Court Awaits Centre’s Stand on Marital Rape
The Supreme Court is considering whether a law should protect husbands from being prosecuted for raping their adult wives.
The court has not yet set a final hearing date.
It wants to first hear what the central government says about the petitions.
Lawyers for the petitioners asked for a fixed date, possibly in November.
The old Indian Penal Code had an exception saying sex by a husband with his adult wife was not rape.
A similar exception remains in the newer Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Some petitioners say this unfairly treats married women differently and violates equality before the law.
A Delhi High Court judgment was split, so the Supreme Court will ultimately decide the legal issue.
The Supreme Court will hear the Centre’s submissions before fixing a date for petitions challenging marital rape laws.
Chief Justice Surya Kant said the bench would consider the government’s position on Wednesday.
Petitioners’ lawyers requested a fixed hearing date, preferably in November, after pleadings are completed.
Section 375 of the repealed Indian Penal Code and Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita exempt adult husbands from rape prosecution in specified circumstances.
The petitions include an appeal from the Delhi High Court’s split 2022 verdict, which presented opposing views on the exception’s constitutionality.
- Who
- A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, the Centre, and petitioners represented by lawyers including Indira Jaising and Karuna Nundy.
- What
- The court is considering petitions challenging the constitutional validity and interpretation of the marital rape exception.
- When
- The Centre’s submissions are scheduled for Wednesday; the Supreme Court will then decide a suitable hearing date.
- Where
- The proceedings are before the Supreme Court of India.
- Why
- The petitioners argue that exempting husbands from rape prosecution in certain cases discriminates against married women and violates equality before law.
Petitioners’ Position
Opposing Legal View
Constitutionality of the exception
Petitioners’ Position
The exception discriminates against married women who face sexual assault by their husbands and should be struck down as unconstitutional.
Opposing Legal View
The exception is not unconstitutional because it is based on an intelligible differentia, meaning a legally relevant distinction between groups.
Equality before law
Petitioners’ Position
Exempting husbands from rape prosecution denies married women equal protection under Article 14 of the Constitution.
Opposing Legal View
The opposing view maintains that the marital distinction can be legally justified under the existing framework.
Timing of the hearing
Petitioners’ Position
Petitioners’ lawyers want a fixed hearing date, preferably in November, so the challenge can be heard without further delay.
Opposing Legal View
The Supreme Court will first hear the Centre’s submissions and ensure the parties complete their pleadings before selecting a date.
- Current status
- The Supreme Court is awaiting the Centre’s stand before fixing a hearing date.
- Bench
- Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana.
- Old provision
- Exception to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code excluded sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his adult wife from the definition of rape.
- Current provision
- Exception 2 to Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita contains a similar marital rape exception for wives aged 18 or older.
- Government response
- The Centre has filed a preliminary objection but, according to petitioners’ lawyers, has not yet filed a substantive reply.
- Earlier proceedings
- The Supreme Court sought the Centre’s response to challenges to the Indian Penal Code provision on January 16, 2023, and later issued notice concerning the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provision.
- Related judgment
- The Delhi High Court issued a split verdict on the issue on May 11, 2022.
