Centre tells Supreme Court Parliament, executive to decide marital rape
The Indian government just told the Supreme Court that making marital rape a crime is not up to the courts. It is for Parliament and the executive to decide.
This all centers on a law that says sex within marriage (if the wife is over 18) cannot be called rape.
The Supreme Court will hold final hearings in three weeks.
Supreme Court to decide constitutionality, prosecutions
The Centre worries changing this law could impact marital stability and thinks current legal options are enough.
But Justice Joymalya Bagchi made it clear: marriage cannot mean the "extinction of a woman's autonomy."
Senior Advocate Karuna Nundy, appearing for one of the petitioners, added that being married should not give anyone a free pass for forced sex or violence.
The big questions now: Is this exception constitutional, and should prosecutions go ahead?
The court's decision could reshape how consent works in Indian marriages.