At the heart of the same-sex marriage court battle is partners’ right to protect their families

SC to decide on same-sex marriage: Petitioners urge court to interpret Special Marriage Act as gender-neutral, granting rights, privileges and obligations to LGBTQIA+ community. Govt counters that heterosexual marriage is foundational to state and same-sex marriage would disturb delicate balance of personal laws and accepted social values.

Five judges of the Supreme Court will at 10.30 am on Tuesday pronounce its verdict on whether India can allow same-sex marriage, and at the heart of the case is the LGBTQIA+ community’s view that wedlock is the key to social acceptance and respect.

“How do I protect my family otherwise?” senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy and advocate Arundhati Katju, lawyers for petitioners Supriyo @ Supriya Chakraborty and Abhay Dang, asked the court

They noted that marriage brings with it a host of rights, privileges and obligations bestowed and protected by the law. Married heterosexual couples can adopt children or have children by surrogacy or ART. They have automatic rights to consortium, inheritance, maintenance and tax benefits. They are beneficiaries under a host of employment statutes. The state’s protection to a spouse continues even after death in the form of pension or compassionate appointments.

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The government has given them battle in court by countering that “living together as partners and having sexual relationship by same sex individuals [which is decriminalised now] is not comparable with the Indian family unit”.

The petitioners have urged the Bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud to interpret the Special Marriage Act of 1954 as “gender-neutral” to apply to a marriage between any two persons, regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have argued that the 1954 Act, in its present form, violated the fundamental rights to a dignified life and equality to the LGBTQIA+ community, which form 7-8 percent of the population of the country, as “it does not provide for solemnisation of marriage between same sex couples”.