New Delhi: A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court will hear tomorrow the legalization of same-sex marriage. The petition has sought registration of same-sex marriages under the Special Marriage Act.
Meanwhile, the Center has filed a new application and said that the court should not conduct this hearing. The court, on its part, cannot create a new institution of marriage.
The central government has also said that the demand to recognize gay marriage is from some elite people living in big cities. A large population of India lives in small towns and villages.
Giving legal status to such a marriage will have an impact on everyone. It is the job of Parliament to make laws considering every aspect. The Supreme Court should not do this.
In the petitions filed in the Supreme Court, gay marriages have also been brought under the Special Marriage Act and they have been asked to be registered.
The petitioners have said that in 2018, the Supreme Court had struck down a part of Section 377 of the IPC criminalising homosexuality. Due to this, consensual homosexual relations between two adults are no longer considered a crime.
In such a situation, same-sex couples who want to live together should also be allowed to marry legally.
On January 6 this year, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the Centre on the issue of same-sex marriage. Also, the petitions pending in different high courts were transferred to them.
Now there are more than 15 petitions before the court. Most of the petitions have been filed by gay, lesbian and transgender people.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice S Ravindra Bhat, Justice P S Narasimha Rao and Justice Hima Kohli will hear the matter.