Homosexuality has an ancient history in India. It was considered a crime during the British era in India. In 2018, the Supreme Court decriminalized homosexual sex after decades of grassroots agitation and vigorous policy campaigning. Queer communities took to the streets, danced in front of the Supreme Court, and marched around the country wearing pride colors and celebrating the judgment. The road to seeking the legalization of same-sex marriage has been a quick one.
The Supreme Court on Monday, March 13, heard the pleas seeking recognition of same-sex marriage by a five-judge constitution bench. Earlier, on Sunday, March 12, the Union government had filed an affidavit before the court opposing the pleas seeking recognition of same-sex marriage. According to the government, same-sex marriages are incompatible with the concept of the “Indian family unit,” which entails “a husband, a wife, and children that necessarily presume a biological man as a ‘husband,’ a biological woman as a ‘wife,’ and the children born out of the union between the two – who are reared by the biological man as a father and the biological woman as mother.”
On April 17, 2023, the Indian government stated its intense opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage, calling it an “urban elitist concept” that undermines religious and societal values as the Supreme Court opens hearings on the rights of LGBTQ persons to marry under the law.
The government pitched that the court rule on the matter of the petitions’ legality. claimed that any equality granted to same-sex couples violated religious beliefs and “seriously affects the interests of every citizen,” and argued that such a decision should be determined by parliament rather than the courts.
The Indian Supreme Court is currently hearing final arguments on several petitions seeking to legalize same-sex marriage and is said to finish the arguments by Thursday.
Both sides have made their points emphatically. According to the petitioners’ lawyers, marriage is a union of two persons, not merely a man and a woman. They have argued that laws should be modified to reflect that marriage ideals have evolved through time and that same-sex couples wish for marriage to be respected.
Same-sex marriages are not as widely accepted in Asia as in the West. And if India legalizes same-sex marriage, it would be the 33rd country to do so.