Same-Sex Marriage: Supreme Court To Hear Review Petitions Today
New Delhi: Supreme Court is scheduled to hear in-chambers pleas seeking review of its last year’s judgment declining legal recognition to same-sex marriage. The five judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, PS Narasimha Hima Kohli, and BV Nagarathna will hear the pleas at around 1.30 pm. On Tuesday, the top court refused to grant open court hearing of the pleas.
In the struggle for equal rights, advocates for the LGBTQ+ community experienced a disheartening moment last year on October 17th. A panel of five constitutional judges, headed by Justice Chandrachud, unfortunately decided not to lend legislative backing to same-sex marriages. The judges held that the rights to marriage are not devoid of conditions, unless explicitly approved by the law.
The Supreme Court underscored the crucial need to safeguard the rights of LGBTQ folks, in an attempt to eradicate discrimination in their pursuit of goods and services. They’ve called for the establishment of secure shelters named ‘Garima Greh’ within every district. These shelters cater to those who’ve been subject to harassment, also providing dedicated helpline numbers for support. Senior legal eagles, Abhishek Singhvi and NK Kaul pleaded with the Chief Justice of India to consider the review petitions in an open courtroom, pointing out the gravity of the issue.
Justice Chandrachud, however, mentioned that review matters are usually mulled over privately by judges as part of their standard protocol.
Supreme Court On Same-Sex Marriage
The Supreme Court has made it clear: Transgender individuals in heterosexual relationships have the right to marry under current laws. The Court emphasized that their relationships deserve legal recognition akin to marriage or civil unions, but stressed that such recognition can only come from legislation.
The five-member constitutional bench, headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud, ruled on 21 separate cases. The unanimous verdict was that amending the Special Marriage Act to legalize same-sex marriages falls under the jurisdiction of Parliament, not the courts.
