Rights: The central government opposed petitions seeking recognition and registration of same-sex marriages in the country and stated that same-sex marriage was not a fundamental right in the country. It also submitted that same-sex couples living together as partners and having a sexual relationship could not be compared to an ‘Indian family unit’ of a husband, wife, and children.
“In our country, despite statutory recognition of the relationship of marriage between a biological man and a biological woman, marriage necessarily depends upon age-old customs, rituals, practices, cultural ethos, and societal values,” the centre told the Delhi High Court in response to three petitions seeking recognition and registration of same-sex marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act, the Special Marriage Act, and the Foreign Marriage Act.
The affidavit submitted by the government in response to the petitions said that despite the Supreme Court decriminalising Section 377 under the Indian Penal Code, the petitioners cannot claim a fundamental right to same-sex marriage under the laws of the country. It said that such relationships can be governed, regulated, permitted, or proscribed only by a law made by the competent legislature.
The PIL seeking the recognition of same-sex marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act had been filed by Abhijit Iyer Mitra and three others. In October 2020, the Delhi High Court observed that the statute is gender-neutral and must be interpreted in favour of the citizens of India. Meanwhile, four more people from the LGBTQ community approached the Delhi High Court seeking similar provisions.
The matter will next be heard on April 20th, 2021.
