The Supreme Court resumed the hearing on same-sex marriage for the third day on Thursday, observing that homosexual relationships are recognized as stable, emotional relationships and are not treated solely as physical ones.
According to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, marriage law has evolved significantly since the Special Marriage Act was enacted in 1954. Outside of their personal laws, the law permitted two consenting individuals to enter into a civil marriage.
The CJI remarked, “By decriminalizing homosexuality, we have not just recognised treating relationships between consenting adults of the same gender but we have also recognised that people who are of same sex would even be in stable relationships…a marriage-like relationship.”
“By decriminalizing homosexuality, we acknowledge that homosexual relationships are not just as physical relations but something more of a stable, emotional relationship,” he further added.
Later, the Chief Justice stated, “There are no absolutes, as I said, even at the risk of getting trolled. And what happens when there is a heterosexual couple and the child sees domestic violence? Will that child grow up in a normal atmosphere? Of a father becoming an alcoholic, coming home and thrashing the mother every night, and asking for money for alcohol.”
The Chief Justice of India also questioned whether a marriage between two spouses required binary gender.
“It requires us to redefine the evolving notion of marriage. Because is the existence of two spouses who belong to a binary gender a necessary requirement for marriage?”
Advocate Raju Ramachandran sought to refute the Centre’s claims that homosexual marriage is an urban elitist concept, claiming that he represented a couple from small towns in Punjab and Haryana who had to relocate to Delhi for safety.
“Centre’s assertion that homosexuality is an urban elitist concept is incorrect and insensitive. Provision under Special Marriage Act for a couple to give notice, opens doors for families, busy bodies intervening and putting an end to relationship. Having to give notice under SMA is totally retrograde, should be struck down from all, even for heterosexuals,” he pointed out.
After hearing prayers from all sides for the day, CJI Chandrachud scheduled the matter for further consideration on Monday i.e., 24th April, 2023.
