New Delhi, Nov 25.
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices on multiple pleas seeking court nod to allow same sex couples to marry under the Special Marriage Act (SMA). A bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud issued formal notices to the government seeking its stand on the issue.
The bench also included Justice Hima Kohli.
A same sex couple, Parth Pheroze Mehrotra and Uday Raj Anand, urged the court to declare the right to marriage a fundamental right for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The couple sought a writ of mandamus to be allowed to solemnize their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. They urged the court to interpret the law in a manner which is neutral to gender identity and sexual orientation.
The court issued notices in the matter to the Attorney General too. These notices will have to be responded to in 4 weeks.
The top court had in a landmark ruling decriminalised same sex adult, consensual relationships. But same sex couples are still denied the right to marry and adopt children.
Live-in relationships between same sex couples are also denied legal recognition though they are not illegal. As a consequence, partners in such relationships are denied the benefits of several beneficial laws such as the domestic violence act.
All this may change if CJI Chandrachud, a liberal icon of sorts, decides to grant these rights to the LGBT community. But it may well run into opposition from conservative elements in society across religions since the issue also involves adoption rights or the right to create a family.
This would further have implications on the right to inherit property.
Possibly conscious of these repercussions, the pleas in the top court have sought permission to have such marriages registered under the SMA. Under the SMA, which is spoken of as a precursor to a uniform civil code, children stand to inherit the personal property of
The move may also run into opposition from the central government which has been queasy about recognising LGBT rights. The government had held its silence about de-criminalising homosexual rights allowing the court to unilaterally do so.
The petitioners in the case were represented by senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Saurabh Kirpal. They were briefed by a team from Karanjawala & Co. including Principal Associate Ms. Tahira Karanjawala, along with Ms. Niharika Karanjawala, Mr. Vardaan Wanchoo, Mr. Shreyas Maheshwari and Mr. Ritwik Mohapatra.
