How legal battle on same-sex marriage unfolded over the yrs — petitioners' cases to govt's objections

New Delhi: On 13 March this year, a three-judge Supreme Court bench referred a batch of 21 petitions demanding legal recognition of same-sex marriage to a five-judge constitution bench..

The reference was made in line with Article 145 (3) of the Constitution, which underlines that petitions raising substantial questions of law involving interpretation of the Constitution should be heard by at least five judges...

The case began with the top court taking note of two petitions filed before it, which centred around the constitutionality of the Special Marriage Act (SMA).On 25 November, 2022, the SC decided to hear the two petitions together.. Filed by two gay couples, the petitions described the SMA as discriminatory, as it recognised marriage only between a male and female..

Mitras petition and the others that were filed in the last two years sought recognition of same-sex marriage under community-specific laws, particularly the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), which is followed by Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and all the sects of Hinduism...

While central body National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) opposed the pleas on the ground that adoption by same-sex parents was akin to endangering children; the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), a child-rights body of the Delhi government, backed same-sex marriages as well as adoption by homosexual couples...

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