Varanasi Women Married To Each Other Challenge Hindu Marriage Act, Delhi HC Issues Notice To Centre

The same sex couple from Varanasi are among the eight petitioners seeking recognition of their marriage. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the central government to file a response to petitions filed by LGBTQ couples who are also seeking to live stream the court proceedings.

The couples seeking to get their marriage recognised under the foreign marriage laws, Hindu Marriage Act and Special Marriage act has been seen as an issue of national and Constitutional importance.

Petitions On Same-Sex Marriage Recognition In India:

High Court's Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh has given a time frame to the Centre to file replies on the fresh petitions by LGBTQ couples. They are also expected to respond to the plea seeking live streaming of the hearing of the petitions. The next hearing of the matter has been set for February 3.

Out of the several petitions on same-sex marriage recognition, one of them was represented by Advocate Mukul Rohatgi. The lesbian couple from Varanasi got married in February 2018 and have filed a petition challenging the Hindu Marriage Act which does not recognise same sex marriages. The plea sought to declare the marriage act unconstitutional as it is against the provisions of law about equality, non-discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, caste, race or place of birth, freedom of speech and other such laws.

One petitioner is a transgender woman who has married a man in South Africa and wants her marriage to be recognised by law. Two other women have sought to get married under the Special Marriage Act and another lesbian couple who got married in the US have asked for marriage recognition under the Foreign Marriage Act as their marriage was denied registration in India.

Petitioner Abhijit Iyer Mitra and others have argued that marriages between same sex couples in India is not possible even after the decriminalisation of consensual homosexual acts.

Live Stream Of Court Proceedings:

Mitra in his petition asked for the hearing of the petitions to be live streamed as they of national importance. Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul who represented the petitioners told the court the live streaming is essential as it concerns seven to eight per cent of India's population.

He said that a large section of the public is eagerly looking forward to the final hearing of the cases and they are not able to attend due limitations.

The Central Government's Take On Same-Sex Marriages:

The government of India has till now opposed such marriages citing that marriage is an institution between biological man and biological woman and not a union of two individuals. Earlier, the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who represented the Centre had said that 'spouse' means either husband or wife and marriage is a term associated with heterosexual couples. He had also said that there was no need to file a specific reply regarding the Citizenship Act.

Suggested Reading: 

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