What Is Same Sex Marriage Bill? Private Member Bill Introduced In Lok Sabha

A same sex marriage bill was introduced by Member of Parliament Supriya Sule on Friday in the Lok Sabha in an attempt to legalise same sex marriages in India. It was introduced as a private members' bill in the parliament.

The bill introduced by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule proposed that LGBTQ citizens should be given the same marital rights as heterosexual people. The bill also proposed to amend the Special Marriage Act of 1954 to set the marriageable age as 21 years for male couples and 18 years in case of female couples.

The bill further proposed to change the words 'huband' and 'wife' with 'spouse' by amending the Special Marriage Act. A similar bill was passed by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP DNV Senthilkumar S in order to provide rights to LGBTQ citizens to live with dignity in society.

What Is A Private Members' Bill?

A private members' bill is a legislation draft which can be introduced by any member of parliament who does not hold the position of a minister. However, such bills are rarely considered in the Parliament, unlike the Government's bills. Till now, only 14 private members' bill have been passed by the Parliament.

While the Supreme Court legalised same-sex relationships back in 2018 with the decriminalisation of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, the LGBTQ community still continues to fight for the right to marry. As Sule remarked in her statement, "Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to amend the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to legalise same-sex marriage, and provide legal recognition to married LGBTQIA couples."

A same sex marriage bill would ensure the various rights to the couples belonging to the LGBTQ community which the heterosexual couples already have including succession, maintenance, pensions, etc. Since the LGBTQ couples still face "persecution, discrimination and social stigma within society" in the Indian society, this bill will attempt to ensure the rights they are entitled to.

Earlier in 2021, the Union government strongly opposed the accord suggesting the legalisation of same sex marriage. The Centre's counsel argued in the Delhi High Court that decriminalisation of homosexuality under Section 377 of the IPC does not provide same-sex couples the fundamental right to marry.