SC to give verdict on legality of same-sex marriage tomorrow

The Supreme Court will rule on Tuesday over the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in India.

After a 10-day hearing on the case, a constitution bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and composed of Justices S K Kaul, S R Bhat, Hima Kohli, and P S Narasimha reserved their decision on May 11.
In order to have the State recognise their unions, the petitioners, represented by prominent attorneys such as Mukul Rohatgi, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Raju Ramachandran, Anand Grover, Geeta Luthra, KV Viswanathan, Saurabh Kirpal, and Menaka Guruswamy, emphasised the LGBTQIA+ community’s equality rights throughout the hearing.

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They had filed a request under the Special Marriage Act (SMA) for same-sex marriages to be recognised legally in order to give their partnerships dignity and to determine the community’s eligibility for social security and other welfare benefits.

The Centre has rejected the request for legal recognition, claiming that “it is only for Parliament to decide this issue” and that India’s legislative policy has purposefully sanctioned a union only between a biological man and a biological woman.

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The government decided to form an interministerial committee under the direction of the cabinet secretary to look into “administrative steps” that might be taken to guarantee certain advantages for same-sex couples even in the event that marriage is not recognised by the law. However, it encouraged the bench overseeing the constitution to hold off on making any pronouncements, even ones endorsing same-sex couples’ rights or the partnership itself.