Supreme Court to hear pleas on legalisation of same-sex marriage

The Supreme Court is set to hear petitions to legalise same-sex marriage from today. A five-judge bench will begin hearing the same. This comes after at least 15 petitions were referred to a larger bench for an authoritative decision last month by a CJI-led bench, who called it a "very seminal issue”.

The central government has opposed gay marriage rights and said the matter should be legislated by Parliament and not decided by the courts. Court appeals in India to legalise same-sex marriage are "urban elitist views", the government has said.

Further, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also moved to the Supreme Court against the legalisation of same-sex marriages. Opposing the adoption rights of same-sex couples, the child rights body has said children raised by same-sex parents may have limited exposure to the traditional gender role models. Seeking the top court's intervention in a batch of petitions, the commission has said the Hindu Marriage Act and the Juvenile Justice Act do not recognise adoption by same-sex couples.

Following the decriminalisation of Section 377 of the IPC in 2018 by the Supreme Court, there has been an increased demand for legalising same-sex marriages. The court proceedings will start shortly and will be closely watched globally.