Today, the Supreme Court of India, continued hearing arguments on same-sex marriage and deeming it equal to heterosexual marriages. A five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul, SR Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha began hearing arguments for the ninth day on Wednesday.
During the previous hearing on Tuesday, Kapil Sibal, who is appearing for Jamaat-Ulema-I-Hind seeking to recognise queer marriages, said that foreign judgements cannot be relied upon while delivering a verdict in the Indian context. He implied that the Constitution was a living document and that law has to evolve with the changing times.
The Supreme Court Constitution bench rejected an application seeking the recusal of CJI Chandrchud from hearing the same-sex marriage case.
"Under Article 21 right to marry is a universal right but it is not a fundamental right. India is a nation still fighting for basic girl child rights. In a parent-teaching meeting, how will a child react to someone having same-sex parents?" Advocate Sanjeevni Agarwal said while opposing the batch of petitions seeking recognition of same-sex marriages.
"Any declaration issued from this court shall be binding on the whole nation. We knew about the judgment in baker's case where he refused to bake a cake in a same-sex marriage case and he was prosecuted and then a pastor refused to solemnise it and they had to bring a pastor protection act.", Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted.
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