The Income Tax Department has opposed, before the Bombay High Court, a petition seeking extension of the spouse-linked exemption under Section 56(2)(x) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to a same-sex couple. The Department says the plea is misconceived because the benefit currently applies to gifts between spouses, and same-sex relationships are not recognised as marriage under any law in India.

The case is important because it connects direct tax treatment with the legal status of marriage and the meaning of “spouse” in Indian law. It also raises a broader constitutional question: whether courts can read fiscal exemptions expansively when the underlying relationship is not recognised by marriage statutes.

What happened

According to the affidavit filed before the Bombay High Court, the petitioners want the exemption under Section 56(2)(x) extended to gifts exchanged between same-sex partners. The Department has opposed this and asked the court to dismiss the plea as misconceived.

The Department’s core argument is that the petition effectively seeks to change the definition of “spouse” so that it includes same-sex relationships. It says no marriage law in India recognises such a relationship as a marriage, and the petitioners have not cited any law that legally recognises them as spouses.

Background and earlier position

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