Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that marriage cannot mean the "extinction of a woman's autonomy".

Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that marriage cannot mean the "extinction of a woman's autonomy".

The Supreme Court has taken up a batch of cases challenging and seeking interpretation of the marital rape exception, with the court deciding to first hear an appeal arising from a Karnataka High Court judgment that allowed prosecution in a case where a wife was allegedly treated as a “sex slave”.

Supreme Court debates prosecuting marital rape, questioning if courts can act when the law exempts such acts from criminal liability.