- RSS backed the central government’s opposition to the legal validation of same-sex marriage, saying marriage is a ‘Sanskar’ not an instrument for enjoyment.
- The Solicitor General, representing the Centre, said that unlike in Mohammedan law, marriage is not just a contract in the case of Hindu law.
- On September 6, 2018, the SC decriminalised consensual gay sex between adults, it also decriminalised Section 377 of the India Penal Code (IPC) which considered sex with the same gender as a criminal activity.
- Currently, there are 32 countries globally where same-sex marriage is legal, In Asia, Taiwan was the first country to recognise such unions in 2019.
The Centre has filed an affidavit in Supreme Court countering the demand made by various petitioners seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court referred the petitions demanding legal validation for same-sex marriages to a five-judge Constitution bench even as the Union government opposed them.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale backed the central government’s opposition to the legal validation of same-sex marriage, saying marriage is a ‘Sanskar’ in the Hindu philosophy of life and not an instrument for enjoyment. When asked about Sangh’s stand over the issue of same-sex marriage, Hosabale told reporters that RSS agrees with the Centre’s view on this issue as marriage can take place only between opposite genders.
On Sunday, the government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court arguing that legal validation of same-sex marital unions will cause “complete havoc” with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country and in accepted societal values. It said the legislative policy in India recognises marriage as a bond only between a biological man and a biological woman.
Union law minister Kiren Rijiju defended the government’s position on same-sex marriages, saying it was grounded in the Indian tradition and ethos. “A person of any sex can choose to live a particular life. But when you talk about marriage, it is an institution…guided by different provisions and laws,” he said at the Lokmat Parliamentary Awards function.
In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the government has opposed the petitions, citing that the petitioners cannot claim a fundamental right for same-sex marriage to be recognised under the laws of the country. At the same time, it submitted that although the Centre limits its recognition to heterosexual relationships, there may be other forms of marriages or unions or personal understandings of relationships between individuals in a society and these “are not unlawful”.
On September 6, 2018, the SC decriminalised consensual gay sex between adults. It also decriminalised Section 377 of the India Penal Code (IPC) which considered sex with the same gender as a criminal activity. However, it said that this should not be meant as conferring any right including the right to marry. So, homosexual couples currently do not have a right to legally marry in India.
Currently, there are 32 countries globally where same-sex marriage is legal. In Asia, Taiwan was the first country to recognise such unions in 2019.
