Supreme Court declines to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages

The Supreme Court was unanimous that it is beyond their remit to issue a positive direction to the legislature to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriage.

The constitution bench of five judges, comprising Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha, was unanimous that it is beyond the remit of courts to issue a positive direction to the legislature to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriages.

The judges were also unanimous in giving a go-ahead to a high-powered committee proposed by the Centre in May to examine the concerns of same-sex couples and certain corrective measures.

One of the judges, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, agreed with the CJI's views, and said that the state must ensure that queer couples faced no discrimination in accessing basic needs and societal tolerance.

He said that giving the right of marriage to queer couples by court was not possible as it is a legislative exercise.

They must be given their due rights so that they will mix with the society, Justice Kaul said.

Justice S Ravindra Bhat, one of the other judges out of five, said, queerness is neither urban nor elitist.

"However, I do not agree with the directions issued by the Chief Justice of India. The role of legislature has been to act as a codifier of customs and wherever necessary intervene in furtherance of Articles 14 and 15(3) to enact laws," he said.

"We do not particularly subscribe to the views of CJI on democratising intimate spaces. These outcomes were brought by legislative acts," he said.

The judgments, separately authored by the CJI and Justices Kaul, Bhat and Narasimha, also refused to annul or tweak the provisions of the Special Marriage Act (SMA) to include non-heterosexual couples within its fold, even as they declared that queer couples have a right to cohabit without any threat of violence, coercion of interference.