India’s Supreme Court Rejects Same-Sex Marriage Legalization

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• India’s Supreme Court rejects legalizing same-sex unions.
• Instead, the court accepts the government’s proposal for a committee to explore legal rights for same-sex couples.
• This decision disappointed many LGBTQ+ activists and couples.

India’s Supreme Court has dashed the hopes of LGBTQ+ individuals seeking marriage equality, as it declined to legalize same-sex unions.

Instead, the court has agreed to the government’s proposal to establish a committee to explore extending legal rights and benefits to same-sex couples.

Despite extensive hearings held in April and May, where deliberations were publicly livestreamed, the court, which was considering 21 petitions from same-sex couples and activists, decided against recognizing same-sex marriages.

The petitioners argued that the denial of marriage rights violated their constitutional liberties and relegated them to “second-class citizens.”

They suggested amending the Special Marriage Act to include same-sex unions by replacing “man” and “woman” with “spouse.”

The government and religious leaders vehemently opposed these petitions, contending that only parliament should address the socio-legal aspects of marriage.

They argued that legalizing same-sex marriage would lead to societal “chaos.”

In the end, the court sided with the government’s stance, affirming that only parliament could enact laws, while the court’s role was to interpret them.

They accepted a government proposal to form a committee, headed by the country’s top bureaucrat, to consider extending rights and privileges to queer couples akin to those enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

Although two judges advocated for civil unions and equal benefits for same-sex couples, the majority did not support this approach.

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also issued a list of directives to end discrimination against the queer community and protect them from harassment and violence.

However, these directions are unlikely to be legally binding, as the majority of judges did not back them.

What initially appeared as India nearing a historic moment in allowing same-sex marriages gradually grew more intricate during the hearings.

The court initially aimed to amend the Special Marriage Act to include LGBTQ+ individuals while refraining from interfering with religious personal laws.

However, it became evident that various legal aspects, such as divorce, adoption, succession, maintenance, and more, were intertwined with numerous laws, some of which extended into religious personal laws.

The verdict has left activists and same-sex couples disheartened by the outcome.

The judgment has found favor with some as well. Adish Aggarwala, the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision to acknowledge the government’s assertion that it lacked the authority to legalize same-sex unions.

The intense scrutiny of this debate was due to India’s status as home to an estimated tens of millions of LGBTQ+ individuals.

While the Indian government estimated their population at 2.5 million in 2012, global estimates suggest it could be as high as 10% of the entire population, which would exceed 135 million.

For same-sex couples, this pivotal judgment held their hopes, with many expressing to the media that they were prepared to marry if the petitions were successful.

Sex and sexuality attitudes in India predominantly adhere to conservative values, and activists argue that the LGBTQ+ community still grapples with social stigma and discrimination.

During the hearings, Mukul Rohatgi, one of the lawyers representing the petitioners, contended that sometimes society needs a push to recognize LGBTQ+ individuals as equals under the constitution, and that the top court’s decision could have driven societal acceptance of the community.

However, today, that pivotal push didn’t come for India’s LGBTQ+ community.

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