BW Explains: All You Need To Know About Same-sex Marriage Plea In SC

A number of petitions for the legal recognition of same-sex marriages are heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The petitions will be heard by a five-judge Supreme Court Constitution bench that includes Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul, Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha. 

What Petitioners have to say 

The main petitioners, Supriyo and Abhay Dang, claim that the non-recognition of same-sex marriage amounts to discrimination that undermines the dignity and self-fulfillment of LGBTQIA+ couples. They emphasised before the court that 7–8 per cent of the nation's population identify as LGBTQ+. The petitioners note that LGBTQIA+ persons did not have access to the legal protection provided by the roughly 15 laws protecting the right to salaries, gratuities, adoption, surrogacy, etc. They contend that the Constitution's Articles 14 (right to equality before the law), 15 (right against discrimination based on religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth), 19 (freedom of speech and expression), and 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) are all violated by not recognising same-sex marriage.

Government’s stand on the issue 

The central government has said that the idea of same-sex marriage is merely an “urban elitist view”. According to this argument, the court's approval of same-sex unions would amount to the "judicial creation of a social institution called 'marriage' of a different kind than that which is contemplated by the existing law." Only the legislature, in accordance with the Centre, has the authority to make such modifications to the legislation. Marriage is not just for private matters. The regulation of marriage is mostly a matter of social acceptance, and as such, it should only be discussed by the legislature, a body that serves as the repository of democratic representation and expresses the wishes of the populace.

Countries that allow same-sex marriage

32 countries in the world today recognise same-sex marriage whereas 10 of them allowed this after court rulings. These countries are USA (2015) Taiwan (2019) Costa Rica (2020) South Africa (2006) Austria (2019) Australia  (2017) Ireland (2015) Switzerland (2022) Argentina (2010) Canada (2005) and Germany (2017).