A Supreme Court bench of five judges will be hearing a set of same-sex marriage petitions from April 18, 2023. The apex court will be hearing the petitions a day after the government opposed legalising same-sex marriage for the second time.

The judging panel consists of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Hima Kohli, Justice P.S. Narasimha, Justice S.K. Kaul, and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat.

The petitioners seeking to move the court for a broader interpretation of marriage have challenged legislation governing it. The petitioners are challenging the Hindu Marriage Act, the Special Marriage Act, the Foreign Marriage Act, and the Citizenship Act for a more liberal reading of these statutes to give same-sex marriages the same status heterosexual marriages enjoy in India.

Meet the judges sitting for the Supreme Court same-sex marriage hearing.

Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage

CJI DY Chandrachud

The CJI DY Chandrachud had previously been a part of the bench that decriminalised homosexuality by striking down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Chandrachud has also taken a stand on decriminalising adultery, and the rights of unmarried women to abortion. He also stood for the right to privacy and so did Justice S.K. Kaul.

Justice S.K. Kaul

Justice S.K. Kaul was one of the eight judges who ruled in favour of Privacy being a Fundamental Right. The landmark decision was made in August 2017.

Justice Hima Kohli

Justice Hima Kohli is the ninth woman ever to sit as a female Supreme Court Judge and was the first Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.

She was the judge for the Amazon-Future-Reliance case.

Justice P.S Narasimha

Justice P.S. Narasimha is known for his judgement on the Ayodhya case when he ruled in favour of it being Ram's birthplace.

Justice S.R. Bhatt

Justice S.R. Bhatt dealt with Intellectual Property rights, the Right to Information, and drug regulation. Justice Bhatt was part of the bench which struck down a government notification under the Drugs Act, which restricted the manufacture and usage of a drug that likely affects the health of pregnant women and mothers.

He observed that the right of women to have a safe post-partum recovery was an integral part of Article 21 of the Constitution.

The bench for the Supreme Court same-sex hearing is diverse. With the Center challenging the Supreme Court's intended jurisprudence over the same-sex marriage hearing what remains to be seen is what the Supreme Court's verdict declares for the queer community of India.

Suggested Reading: Centre’s Opposition To Same-Sex Marriage: A Probable Regression Of Nari Shakti