Consider leaving questions raised in same sex marriage pleas to Parliament: Govt to SC

PTI, New Delhi, Apr 26, 2023  : The Centre on Wednesday requested the Supreme Court to consider leaving questions raised in the pleas seeking legal sanction for same sex marriages to Parliament.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that the apex court is dealing with a “very complex subject”, which has a “profound social impact”.

“The real question is who would take a call on what constitutes marriage and between whom,” Mehta said on the fifth day of hearing.

He told the bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul, S R Bhat, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha, that there would be ramifications on several other statutes which would need a debate in the society and also in various state legislatures.

Hearing in the matter is underway.

The Constitution Bench has begun arguements on the matter from April 18.

Centre has opposed the petition seeking marriage equality. Various petitions are being dealt with by Supreme Court seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage. One of the petitions earlier raised the absence of a legal framework which allowed members of the LGBTQ+ community to marry any person of their choice.

According to the petition, the couple sought to enforce the fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ individuals to marry any person of their choice and said that "the exercise of which ought to be insulated from the disdain of legislative and popular majorities."

The petitioners, further, asserted their fundamental right to marry each other and prayed for appropriate directions from this Court allowing and enabling them to do so.