Why the minority order raised hopes

Through their judgments, the CJI and justice Kaul gave queer couples series of potential rights like adoption, succession and maintenance

- Utkarsh Anand

The minority judgment of the Supreme Court in the same-sex marriage case embarked on an expansive jurisprudential journey in its zealous endeavour to forge a right for the queer community to enter into a civil union, holding it to be the key to fulfilment of their existing rights and entitlement of a raft of other benefits available to heterosexual couples.

Through their judgments, the justices gave queer couples series of potential rights to adopt a child, to succession and maintenance, to pension and gratuity, to end-of-life medical decisions only for the majority judges to overrule an order that the community would have perceived as a significant step.

Authored separately by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, the judgment held that it is insufficient for the State to hold that queer couples are not legally prohibited from cohabitation or live as couples when the full enjoyment of such relationships makes it necessary that the State accord recognition to such relationships.

"Thus, the right to enter into a union includes the right to associate with a partner of one's choice, according recognition to the association, and ensuring that there is no denial of access to basic goods and services is crucial to achieve the goal of self-development," noted the CJI's judgment.