Now I fully agree that marital rape should definitely have the same repercussions as rape. However, the summary posted made me think initially that there was no protection for women against domestic violence in India at all.

After some googling, I found some more context

“It is submitted that the act colloquially referred to as ‘marital rape’ ought to be illegal and criminalised. The Central Government asserts that a woman’s consent is not obliterated by marriage, and its violation should result in penal consequences. However, the consequences of such violations within marriage differ from those outside it. Parliament has provided different remedies, including criminal law provisions, to protect consent within marriage. Sections 354, 354A, 354B, 498A IPC, and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, ensure serious penal consequences for such violations,”

Tl;dr marital rape is illegal and can be prosecuted. But somehow the court thinks that the act of marriage changes the situation.