SC Verdict: Homosexual Marriage is Not Equal To Heterosexual

The Supreme Court pronounced its verdict by a 3-2 majority on the legal recognition of same-sex marriage

• The five-judge Constitution bench hearing the pleas comprised Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul, SR Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha. 

What Verdict was given By the Supreme Court?

• No legal recognition of same-sex marriages. 
• There is no constitutional or fundamental right to civil unions. 
• The Centre's high-powered committee will examine the concerns of same-sex couples. 
• Queer couples have no right to adoption.

What is the Issue?

• During hearings, the petitioners said that "India is a marriage-based culture" and that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) couples should be granted the same rights as any heterosexual couples have, like the status of "spouse" in finance and insurance issues; medial, inheritance, and succession decisions, and even in adoption and surrogacy matters.
• The non-inclusion of LGBTQIA+ marriages under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, amounted to discrimination under Article 14.

HomoSexual Marriage Case

• Two petitions were filed regarding the constitutionality of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
  • The first petition was filed by Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dang, while the second was filed by Parth Phiroze Merhotra and Uday Raj Anand. 
• In 2014, the Supreme Court recognized non-binary gender identities and granted equal rights to homosexual persons in the NALSA vs Union of India case. 
• This was further cemented in 2018 in the Navtej Singh Johar vs. Union of India case.

Who is LGBT?

• "LGBT" stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, encompassing sexual orientation and gender identity. However, some use it as an umbrella term for all non-straight and non-cisgender individuals. 
• Therefore, it is crucial to understand the other sexual and gender identities the term includes.
• LGBTQIA++ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, two-spirit, asexual and ally persons.

Same-Sex Marriage Legal Around the World

• Currently, 34 countries have legalised same-sex marriage. These are Argentina, Australia, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Malta, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay.

In 1989, Denmark became the first country to allow the legal registration of same-sex unions.