Same-sex marriage: Supreme Court to deliver verdict today

NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver its much anticipated judgement on Tuesday on pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had on May 11 reserved its verdict on the pleas after a marathon hearing of 10 days.

The other members of the bench are Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha.

The judgement will be delivered on Tuesday and accordingly, the information will be updated on the apex court website, sources said.

During the arguments, the Centre had told the apex court that any constitutional declaration made by it on the petitions seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage may not be a “correct course of action” as the court will not be able to foresee, envisage, comprehend and deal with its fallout.

The Centre had also told the court it had received responses from seven states on the issue of same-sex marriage and the governments of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Assam had opposed the petitioners’ contention seeking legal endorsement for such wedlock. The apex court had commenced hearing arguments in the matter on April 18.

While hearing the matter on May 11, the bench had observed it cannot give a declaration on same-sex unions on the anticipation as to how Parliament is likely to respond to it.

The bench made the observation after one of the advocates appearing for the petitioners referred to judicial verdicts, including in the instant triple talaq case, and said once the top court gave a declaration to pass a law penalising the practice, it was a matter for “fairly easy legislative consensus”.

The bench had made it clear during the arguments that it will not go into personal laws governing marriages while deciding the pleas seeking judicial validation for same-sex marriages and said the very notion of a man and a woman, as referred to in the Special Marriage Act, is not “an absolute based on genitals”.

Some of the petitioners had urged the apex court to use its plenary power, “prestige and moral authority” to push the society to acknowledge such a union which would ensure LGBTQIA++ lead a “dignified” life like heterosexuals.

LGBTQIA++ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, two-spirit, asexual and ally persons.

On May 3, the Centre had told the court it will constitute a committee headed by the cabinet secretary to examine the administrative steps that could be taken for addressing “genuine humane concerns” of same-sex couples without going into the issue of legalising their marriage.

The Centre’s submission was pursuant to the apex court asking it on April 27 whether social welfare benefits like opening joint bank accounts, nominating life partner in provident funds, gratuity and pension schemes can be extended to same-sex couples without going into the issue of legal sanction to their marriage.

Also read: ‘Please save Gaza, I beg you. It’s dying’