Because doing so will recognise same-sex marital relationships, the Union government has told the Karnataka High Court that same-sex couples in India cannot be granted tax exemptions available to spouses and family members under existing tax laws.
Hence, the benefit of the proviso would not be available to those in same-sex relationships.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General Arvind Kamath, who appeared for the Centre, told the court that the petitioners cannot use the Income Tax (IT) Act to secure a benefit linked to a marital status that the Indian law does not recognise for same-sex couples. The government further said in its written submissions made before the court: “It is submitted that same-sex relationships are not equivalent to marriage and persons in same-sex relationships are not ‘spouses’ under the law. Their counsel, advocate Dhruv Janssen Sanghvi, told the court that denying same-sex couples the tax exemption reflects unequal treatment of their relationships and penalises them for expressing love for their partners.
They also challenged the exclusion of same-sex partners from this benefit. The case arose after Godi gifted Kalia a 22-karat gold bracelet, a family heirloom. The two were preparing their income-tax returns for the 2025–26 assessment year when the tax issue arose. They then moved the HC in September 2025 seeking the court declare the fifth provision to Section 56(2)(x) of the Act “unconstitutional.
The court will now hear the matter on November 2 to seek “technical clarifications on documents filed in the case”.
