The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre and Attorney General R Venkataramani seeking their responses on same-sex marriage. The apex court agreed to hear a plea seeking recognition of the right of same-sex couples to marry.
The bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli was hearing pleas filed by two gay couples seeking to strike down of provisions of the Special Marriage Act that bar same-sex marriage. “Issue notice returnable in four weeks. Liberty to serve the central agency. Notice be also issued to the Attorney General for India,” the bench said.
The lead petition was by Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dang, and another by gay couple Parth Phiroze Mehrotra and Uday Raj.
The petitioner said, "Being able to marry has implications for individual liberty, finance, succession rights, adoption. Every facet of our existence is dependent on formalising union through legal marriage. How can I protect my family without legal recognition of rights flowing from a formal marriage."
A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in 2018 unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex.
With inputs from PTI
First Published: Nov 25, 2022 1:47 PM IST
