Apex Court refuses to legalise same sex marriage

The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision on Tuesday refused to legalise same-sex marriage in India and said that the jurisdiction lay with the legislature instead. Reasoning that the Right to Marriage was not a fundamental right, the five-judge Constitution bench, including Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, ruled that gay marriage could not be legalised in the country.

The petitions were heard by a five-judge Constitution bench, including Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Ravindra Bhat, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice PS Narasimha, which delivered four judgments. The bench gave a 3:2 judgment on the question of adoption rights to queer couples. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice SK Kaul recognised the right of queer couples to adopt, while Justice S Ravindra Bhat, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Hima Kohli disagreed.

The judges, however, asked the Centre to proceed with the formation of a committee to address the concerns of same-sex couples, such as getting ration cards, pension, PF, gratuity and succession issues. 

The top court's verdict came after it reserved its judgment on a batch of pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage on May 11, 2023.

Notably, the Supreme Court in 2014 recognised transgender people as the "third gender". Later, in 2018, the top court struck down the colonial-era law and decriminalised homosexuality.