National Desk: 17th October: The Supreme Court refrained from legalizing same-sex marriage in India on October 17, a decision many were hoping to be a historic verdict. The lack of consensus among the judges prevented the Court from passing a verdict in favor of same-sex marriage.
The five-judge bench, consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha, couldn’t reach a unanimous conclusion due to differing opinions. While CJI Chandrachud and Justice Kaul were in favor of same-sex marriage, the other three Justices were opposed.
Justices Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha agreed with Justice Ravindra Bhat, who argued that there is no unqualified right to marry. The point of contention was whether marriage is a fixed and unchangeable arrangement. The Chief Justice highlighted that it is up to Parliament to decide whether to amend the Special Marriage Act.
The petitioners had requested changes to the Special Marriage Act, replacing the terms “man and woman” with “individual” and “husband and wife” with “couple” to allow for the registration of same-sex marriages.
The Supreme Court’s indecision leaves the matter of same-sex marriage in India unresolved, emphasizing the need for legislative action to address this issue.