The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre on Friday on a petition to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages and alliances between members of the LGBTIQ+ community under the Special Marriage Act.
A division bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud directed that notices be issued not only to the Union government but also to the Attorney General of India. The case will be heard in four weeks by the court.
The Special Marriage Act of 1954 establishes a civil marriage for couples who are unable to marry under their personal law.
A gay couple had petitioned the Supreme Court for legal recognition of same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act, as well as for appropriate direction to authorities to allow them to marry.
The petition cited the lack of a legal framework that allowed members of the LGBTQ+ community to marry whoever they wanted.
According to the petition, the couple sought to enforce LGBTQ+ individuals’ fundamental right to marry anyone of their choosing and stated that “the exercise of which ought to be insulated from the disdain of legislative and popular majorities”.
The petitioners also asserted their fundamental right to marry each other and requested that this Court issue appropriate directions allowing and enabling them to do so.
The petitioners, both LGBTQ+ members, argued that the right to many a person of one’s choice is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Indian Constitution to each “person” and has been explicitly recognised by this court.
They emphasised that the Supreme Court has explicitly stated that LGBTQ+ members have the same human, fundamental, and constitutional rights as other citizens.
However, the legal framework governing the institution of marriage in this country currently does not allow members of the LGBTQ+ community to marry the person of their choice and exercise the fundamental right guaranteed to them by our Constitution.
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