Excluding same-sex couples from Income Tax spouse benefits amounts to discrimination on the ground of sex and violates Article 15, the Karnataka High Court was told.
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Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court was told on Friday (October 9) that excluding same-sex couples from the ‘spouse’ benefit under the Income Tax Act, 1961, amounts to discrimination on the ground of sex and violates Article 15 of the Constitution, in a challenge by a same-sex couple to the tax treatment of gifts between partners [Anurag Kalia v. Union of India].
The petitioners are being heard by Justice B.M. Shyam Prasad. Dr. Dhruv Janssen-Sanghavi, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the case is fundamentally about equality under Article 15. The Court has not ruled on the contentions, and the hearing is continuing.
The challenge
The petition asks the Court to read the word ‘spouse’ in the Fifth Proviso to Section 56(2)(x) of the Income Tax Act to include same-sex partners, so that gifts between them are treated like gifts between spouses. At an earlier hearing, the Union of India, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, opposed the plea, contending that the exemption cannot extend to same-sex partners unless their relationship is recognised as a legally valid marriage.
What was argued on October 9
On behalf of the petitioners, it was submitted that denying the spouse benefit to same-sex couples, while giving it to heterosexual couples, discriminates on the ground of sex and offends the equality guarantee in Article 15. The detailed submissions advanced at the hearing are in the court record, and the Union’s position remains that set out at the earlier hearing.
Why the hearing matters
The case tests whether a statutory benefit tied to the word ‘spouse’ can be read to cover same-sex partners who cannot legally marry, and whether the exclusion is itself discrimination on the ground of sex. Both sides have put forward their contentions, and the Court has yet to decide. The submissions summarised here are the parties’ contentions and are not findings of the Court.
Case Title: Anurag Kalia v. Union of India
Bench: Justice B.M. Shyam Prasad, Karnataka High Court
Date of Hearing: October 9, 2026
Appearances: Dr. Dhruv Janssen-Sanghavi for the petitioners; Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Union at the earlier hearing