India gay couples in same-sex marriage Supreme Court fight – QNews LGBTIQA+ News
India’s Supreme Court has accepted legal petitions from four gay couples who’ve gone to the court demanding the country legalise same-sex marriage.
In 2018, India finally struck down a colonial-era law criminalising gay sex. However same-sex marriages aren’t yet legally recognised in the country.
The couples said that while the 2018 ruling was an historic moment for the country, discrimination and legal hurdles remain for same-sex couples.
They’ve told the court that without legal recognition of marriage, they are denied rights such as those linked to medical consent, insurance, pensions, adoption, Reuters reported.
One of the couples, Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dang, made headlines in December when they celebrated a lavish two-day commitment ceremony that the couple said had all the traditions and trappings of a “Big Fat Indian wedding”.
But after the “euphoria” of the stunning ceremony faded, the couple realised they couldn’t take out health insurance as couples or nominate each other in life insurance policies.
“We still can’t say we are legally married,” Chakraborty told VOA.
“On any public platform I cannot introduce Abhay as my husband. Marriage is important to an Indian family and I want my mother to be able to say that her son is married to Abhay.
“I have to still fill my status on all official forms as single. But I want the same rights and security that flow from legal marriages for straight couples.
“We don’t have any of that.”
Indian government has previously argued against same-sex marriage
The four gay couples who’ve gone to the Supreme Court are arguing that denying them same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, Reuters reported.
The Supreme Court recently accepted the couples’ petitions and the government’s response is due before the end of the month.
But last year, the government responded to a similar court bid for same-sex marriage in the Delhi High Court.
At the time, the government argued in the court that marriage depends upon “age-old customs, rituals, practices, cultural ethos and societal values.”
The government claimed that permitting same-sex marriages would “cause complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country.”
In Asia, Taiwan is the country to have legalised same-sex marriages.
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