Same-sex marriages attack on family system, contravene all personal laws: Jamiat Ulama-i Hind

Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has moved the Supreme Court saying same-sex marroages are an attack on the family system, and in complete contravention of all personal laws.

Opposing petitions seeking validation of same-sex marriages, the Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has moved the Supreme Court saying they are an attack on the family system, and in complete contravention of all personal laws.

Looking for an intervention in the batch of petitions pending before the top court, the organisation also cited the Hindu traditions, saying that the aim of marriage among Hindus, was not merely physical pleasure or procreation but also spiritual advancement.

It is one of the sixteen 'sanskars' in Hindus, the Jamiat said. "This concept of same-sex marriage goes to attack the family system rather than making a family through this process," Jamiat said.

The top court on March 13 had referred the pleas seeking legal validation of same-sex marriages to a five-judge Constitution bench for adjudication, saying it was a "very seminal issue".

A Bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said the submissions on the issue involved an interplay between constitutional rights on the one hand, and special legislative enactments, including the Special Marriage Act, on the other.

In its petition, Jamiat said, "The nature of prayers in the present petition is in complete contravention of the established understanding of the concept of marriage in all personal laws— between a biological man and a biological woman— and thus intends to rake up the very core, i.e. the structure of a family unit prevailing in the personal laws system."

“The concept of marriage between two opposite sexes is like a basic feature of the concept of marriage itself, which leads to the creation of a bundle of rights (maintenance, inheritance, guardianship, custody),” it stated.