The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to set to deliver its judgment tomorroe on the number of petitions seeking legal recognization of queer marriage in India.
A bench comprising, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice S Ravindra Bhat, Justice Hima Kohli, and Justice PS Narasimha, commenced hearings on this matter on April 18 and reserved their decision on May 11, 2023.
The Court is set to make rulings on a total of twenty petitions submitted by same-sex couples, transgender individuals, and LGBTQIA+ activists. These petitions challenge specific provisions within the Special Marriage Act of 1954, Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, and Foreign Marriage Act of 1969, particularly those aspects that fail to acknowledge marriages involving non-heterosexual individuals. In the course of the hearings, the bench indicated its intention to limit the scope of the matter to the Special Marriage Act, avoiding any involvement with personal laws.
Earlier, Union Government, opposed the petitions, arguing that the issue should be addressed by Parliament. The government expressed its willingness to explore the possibility of granting certain rights to same-sex couples, even if formal legal recognition of their marriages.
This was in response to a query raised by the Court if certain executive instructions could be issued to ensure that same-sex couples have access to welfare measures and social security - such as permission to open joint bank-accounts, to name partner as nominee in life insurance policies, PF, pension etc
The petitioners argued that the terms "husband" and "wife" within the Special Marriage Act should be interpreted in a gender-neutral manner, such as "spouse" or "person." In response, the Union Government opposed this idea and said that the Special Marriage Act was originally enacted with altogether different purpose in mind and when the same was passed in 1954, the legislature never contemplated brining homosexual couples under its ambit. Furthermore, the government contended that such an interpretation could disrupt various other laws dealing with adoption, maintenance, surrogacy, succession, divorce, and more.
Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi, Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Raju Ramachandran KV Vishwanathan, Dr.Menaka Guruswamy, Jayna Kothari, Saurabh Kirpal, Anand Grover, Geeta Luthra, Advocates Arundhati Katju, Vrinda Grover, Karuna Nundy, Manu Srinath etc., argued for the petitioners.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta appeared for the Union Government. Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi argued for the State of Madhya Pradesh in opposition of the petitions. Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Arvind Datar also argued opposing the petitions.
The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights raised concerns and intervened in the proceedings, expressing reservations about permitting same-sex couples to adopt children. On the other hand, the Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights actively supported the petitions and endorsed the rights of same-sex couples to adopt children.
Case Title: Supriyo v. Union of India
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