A Plea for Marriage Equality

The union government has recently opposed the recognition of same-sex marriages in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court. According to the union government, granting legal status to same-sex marriages would disrupt the harmony between prevailing personal laws and social customs in India. The Supreme Court has admitted this plea for the recognition of same-sex marriages as a fundamental right for LGBTQ+ citizens. This can be seen in a continuation of its judicial activism where the apex court had struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial-era provision which dealt with the criminalisation of homosexuality.

The plea in the Supreme Court challenges the Hindu Marriage Act, Foreign Marriage Act, and Special Marriage Act on the grounds that these acts do not allow same-sex unions. The petitioners have argued that denying marriage rights to an entire group of people based on their sexual orientation alone is discriminatory and violates Article 15, which expressly states that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen based on the grounds of sex.