New Delhi: In the Supreme Court, the Centre opposed a bunch of petitions that demanded legal recognition to the same-sex marriage by filing a counter-affidavit.
The Centre mentioned that the “decriminalisation of Section 377 IPC cannot give rise to a claim to seek recognition for same-sex marriage,” reported LiveLaw.
#BREAKING Central Government opposes pleas in #SupremeCourt seeking recognition of same-sex marriage.
Decriminalisation of Section 377 IPC cannot give rise to a claim to seek recognition for same-sex marriage, Centre says in counter-affidavit.#SupremeCourtOfIndia #LGBT pic.twitter.com/QOMwUqyL2i
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) March 12, 2023
The central government asserted that living together of persons in heterosexual relationship “cannot be compared to the Indian family concept of a husband, a wife and children born out of the union”.
It further said the union between persons of opposite sex is “socially,
culturally and legally ingrained into the very idea and concept of marriage and
ought not to be disturbed or diluted by judicial interpretation.”
In its argument against the same-sex marriage, the Indian government added that after decriminalisation, there would arise a number of issues regarding adoption, divorce, maintenance, inheritance etc.
No Violation Due To Non-Recognition To Same-Sex Marriage
Focusing on the rationality of opposite-sex marriage, the Centre argued that there is no violation of fundamental rights this way.
A number of petitions were filed that challenged the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, Foreign Marriage Act and Special Marriage Act. The PILs objected the laws for not recognising same-sex marriages legally.
In January, a constitutional bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud had transferred the matter to the Supreme Court as the petitions were pending in High Courts.
