IIn a welcome move, the Supreme Court has transferred legally pending petitions in several High Courts to itself gay marriage recognition, A division bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala asked the Center to file its reply on all petitions on the issue by February 15 and listed the matter for directions on March 13. The petitioners are looking for an official ruling. Same-sex marriage, in particular the question of whether it would be brought under the Special Marriage Act of 1954, which allows civil marriage for couples who cannot marry under their own personal law. after the transformative decision in KS Puttaswamy (2017) Upholding the right to privacy and Navtej Johar (2018) Decriminalizing homosexuality, courts lead the way in ending uncertainty Rights of the LGBTQIA+ Community, The petitioners have argued that denying the community equal rights to heterosexual couples violates fundamental rights on life and liberty, including Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution and Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which India is a signatory . , Article 16 states, “Men and women of all ages, without any limitation as to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family”.
The top court will first face a response from the Centre, which has said it opposes same-sex marriage, saying judicial intervention would lead to “complete destruction with the delicate balance of personal laws”. There are other issues on which the LGBTQIA+ community, which already faces prejudice in society, would require clarity from the court. Under Sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Special Marriage Act, the parties to the marriage have to give prior notice to the Marriage Officer of the district, who has to publicize the notice and invite objections. In the past, many inter-caste and inter-religious marriages faced violent opposition from those acting in the name of honor or community. However, the Allahabad High Court ruled in 2021 that people marrying under the Special Marriage Act can choose not to publicize their union, saying that compulsorily publishing information of intended marriages and seeking objections violates the right to privacy. violates the Act, the LGBTQIA+ community will seek it, there is a definite direction from the Supreme Court on this. Awareness campaigns are also necessary to sensitize the society about the rights of all individuals. By legalizing same-sex marriage, India could join 30 countries that allow it, and lead from the front in Asia where only Taiwan has legalised.