Supreme Court Defers Hearing Of Petitions Seeking To Criminalize Martial Rape

Today (October 23, 2024), the Supreme Court (SC) bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice Manoj Misra, and Justice JB Pardiwala deferred the hearing of a batch of petitions seeking to criminalize marital rape in India. The hearing was adjourned after the Counsels of the parties informed the bench that they would take time to complete the submissions. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan (appearing for another petitioner), Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi (appearing for the State of Maharashtra), and Senior Advocate Indira Jaising (Appearing for a respondent-wife) submitted that they would require 1 day each to complete their submissions. Moreover, certain intervenors, men’s rights bodies, also sought time to present their submissions before the Court. After hearing this, CJI Chandrachud pointed out that if the arguments cannot be completed within this week, it would be difficult to decide on the matter before his retirement, November 10, 2024. He added that the Court will be closed for Diwali vacations next week starting from October 28, 2024. Therefore, the bench adjourned the matter stating, “In view of the time estimate, we are of the view that it would not be possible to complete the hearings in the foreseeable future.” It said the matter will be posted before another bench for a fresh hearing.