New Delhi
\nIndia\u2019s Supreme Court declined to legalize same-sex marriages on Tuesday but emphasized the country\u2019s duty to recognize and protect LGBTQ relationships from discrimination.
\nLawyers for several same-sex couples had urged the court earlier this year to grant their relationships full legal recognition, but the five-member bench ruled that extending marriage equality was a parliamentary decision.
\nThe court, in a ruling, stated that the extension of marriage equality is a decision for the parliament to make.
\n\u201cIt lies within the domain of parliament and state legislatures to determine the law on marriage,\u201d Supreme Court Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said during his verdict.
\nWhile the fundamental right to marriage for same-sex couples was not guaranteed under existing law, the court granted marriage rights to couples involving one or both transgender individuals — only if one of them identified as a man and the other a woman.
\nThe chief justice further remarked that India still had a duty to acknowledge same-sex relationships and protect those in them from discrimination.
\n\u201cOur ability to feel love and affection for one another makes us feel human,\u201d he said from the bench. \u201cThis court has recognised that equality demands that queer unions and queer persons are not discriminated against.\u201d
\nThe decision was met with disappointment by a crowd outside the court that had hoped for India to become the second Asian jurisdiction after Taiwan to legalize same-sex marriages. The petitioners had argued that legal recognition would provide access to benefits such as adoption, insurance, and inheritance.
\n\u201cWe are not satisfied with whatever the court has said\u201d, Siddhant Kumar, 27, told AFP. \u201cThis has been going on for years, we have been struggling for legal recognition,\u201d he added. \u201cWe have to remain strong and continue our fight.\u201d
\nThe Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has opposed same-sex marriage, maintaining that any change should be decided by parliament rather than the courts.
\n\u201cAny interference… would cause a complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country and in accepted societal values\u201d, the government said in its submission. \u201cLiving together as partners and having sexual relationship by same sex individuals… is not comparable with the Indian family unit concept of a husband, a wife and children.\u201d
\nWhile acceptance of gay couples has grown in India, leaders from major religions in the country oppose same-sex unions. The Supreme Court had previously struck down the colonial-era law criminalizing gay sex in 2018 and ruled that unmarried or same-sex couples were entitled to welfare benefits in 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi India\u2019s Supreme Court declined to legalize same-sex marriages on Tuesday but emphasized the country\u2019s duty to recognize and protect LGBTQ relationships from discrimination. Lawyers for several same-sex couples had urged the court earlier this year to grant their relationships full legal recognition, but the five-member bench ruled that extending marriage equality was a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-362231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n