Supreme Court to Hear Marital Assault Exception Case

The Supreme Court of India is set to hold final hearings within three weeks on challenges to the longstanding marital assault exception, a legal provision that exempts men from prosecution for sexual intercourse or acts with their adult wives. The Court affirmed on Wednesday that marriage does not extinguish a woman's individual autonomy, while simultaneously questioning whether prosecutions can proceed under existing law before the exception's constitutional validity is definitively decided. A three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and including Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, is examining Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which is now incorporated as Exception 2 to Section 63 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. This exception has historically shielded husbands from charges of rape or assault against their wives. The Court indicated it would address two primary questions: first, whether prosecution can be sustained if the marital assault exception remains operative, and second, whether the exception itself is constitutionally valid.