The Supreme Court on Monday (September 7, 2026) said it will await the stand of the central government on a batch of petitions concerning the criminalisation of marital rape before fixing a suitable date for hearing on the issue.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising mentioned a petition related to the prosecution of a husband for martial rape before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, urging that the batch be listed for a date in November. Ms. “Union has not filed a reply, except a preliminary objection. I am asking for a fixed date of hearing in November. We have not exchanged the petitions. High Court judges Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice C While delivering a split judgement. Hari Shankar had concurred on granting the petitioners a certificate of leave to appeal in the Supreme Court as the matter involved substantial questions of law which required a decision by the top court.
Jaising, who appeared for the wife, said although the matters are scheduled to come up for hearing on Wednesday (September 9), the Centre was yet to file a substantive reply and that the parties were also yet to exchange the petitions. The Supreme Court had on January 16, 2023 sought the Centre’s response on a clutch of petitions assailing the IPC provision which provides protection to a husband against prosecution for forcible sexual intercourse if the wife is an adult. One of the pleas is related to the Delhi High Court’s split verdict of May 11, 2022 , on the issue.
We don’t know the commonality or differences,” the senior counsel said. The court was told that the batch pertains to constitutional validity and interpretation of the provisions concerning martial rape in the criminal law.
The appeal has been filed by a woman, who was one of the petitioners before the Delhi High Court.
