SC NO TO LEGAL RECOGNITION TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Five-judge bench agrees on the main issue that the court can't accord legal validation to same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act; says the task has to be performed by Parliament. Court says no fundamental right of same-sex couples to marry.

- ASHISH SINHA

A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act, ruling that it is within Parliament’s ambit to change the law for validating such union.

The top court, however, recognised equal rights for queer people and their protection, while calling for sensitisation of the general public so they don’t face discrimination. The apex court, while passing four separate verdicts, was unanimous in holding that there is “no unqualified right” to marriage, and same-sex couples can’t claim it as a fundamental right under the Constitution.

The bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was critical of the Centre’s stand that the pleas for legal validation of same-sex marriage was reflective of an urban elitist concept. Queerness is neither an urban nor an elite concept or characteristic, said the apex court, which pronounced the verdicts on 21 petitions seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriages. It, however, differed on certain aspects, especially on the applicability of adoption rules for queer couples.

The five-judge bench comprising the CJI, and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S. Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and P.S. Narasimha concurred on the main issue that the court can’t accord legal validation to same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act, and said the task has to be performed by Parliament.