A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India has dismissed 13 petitions seeking a review of its October 2023 judgment, which declined to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages. The Court also turned down applications requesting that these review petitions be heard in an open court. 

The review petitions were considered in chambers by a bench led by Justice BR Gavai.

After examining the majority judgments authored by retired Justice S. Ravindra Bhat (for himself and Justice Hima Kohli) and Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, the Court concluded that there was no "error apparent on the face of the record" and that the judgments aligned with established legal principles. As such, the bench dismissed the review petitions.  

The bench hearing the review petitions included Justices Gavai, Surya Kant, BV Nagarathna, PS Narasimha, and Dipankar Datta.

The petitioners argued that the October 2023 judgment suffered from apparent legal errors, was self-contradictory, and resulted in manifest injustice.  

In July 2024, a plea was made to the Chief Justice of India, requesting an open court hearing for the review petitions, but this request was not entertained.  

The October 2023 verdict had been significant, with the Supreme Court holding that the Indian Constitution does not provide a fundamental right to marry. The review plea, filed under Article 137 of the Constitution, contended that the majority judgment was flawed as it acknowledged discrimination by the Respondents against the Petitioners but did not act to prohibit such discrimination.  

The plea further criticized the majority judgment’s understanding of marriage, arguing that it overlooked the essence of marriage as an enforceable social contract available to consenting adults irrespective of faith. It emphasized that no group or the State has the authority to define or restrict the fundamental right to marry for another group.  

In its October 2023 decision, the five-judge Constitution bench, then led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, had left it to the Union Government to form a High-Powered Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary to address issues related to queer relationships. The Court had also underscored the need for judicial restraint in areas overlapping with the legislative domain.