India’s gay marriage ruling ‘a smack in the face’, but LGBTQ folk vow to continue equality fight

The top court did not legalise same-sex marriages, but said India had a duty to acknowledge such relationships and protect LGBTQ folk from discrimination

It urged the government to set up a committee to look into the rights of LGBTQ people, including for medical, financial and inheritance benefits

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Members of the LGBTQ community take part in a pride walk in Siliguri. India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to legalise same-sex marriages, five years after it had made a landmark ruling to scrap a colonial-era ban on gay sex. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:30am, 21 Oct 2023Updated: 6:09pm, 23 Oct 2023

Uday Raj Anand has been with his partner Parth Mehrotra for 17 years. But only one of them can be legal guardian to their two children.

The couple had hoped that would change this week, with India’s top court passing its judgment on the legal recognition of same-sex marriages in the country. But they, along with millions of India’s LGBTQ folk, faced disappointment.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to legalise same-sex marriages, five years after it had made a landmark ruling to scrap a colonial-era ban on gay sex.

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud led a five-judge constitution bench in delivering the unanimous verdict. “This court cannot make law. It can only interpret it and give effect to it,” he said, adding the court did not have the jurisdiction to legalise LGBTQ marriages, and that the decision lay in the hands of parliament.

LGBTQ community members and supporters take part in a pride parade in New Delhi. Same-sex couples in India are barred from accessing legal benefits and rights including those linked to adoption, insurance, and medical consent. Photo: Shutterstock

The judgment largely aligns with the perspective of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which has said the legislature is the correct forum to decide on the issue, not the court.