Continuous developments have taken place in the Same-Sex marriage issue as the matter now lies before the honourable Supreme Court.
A 5-judge Constitutional Bench had earlier been constituted by the honourable court which will hear and decide upon a host of petitions on same-sex marriage recognition.
This said Constitution Bench will Include: The honourable CJI DY Chandrachud and the honourable justices – S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and PS Narasimha.
The Honourable Bench will take up the said petitions from 18th April 2024.
Recently, the NCPCR which is the National Commission For Protection Of Child Rights filed an Intervention application relating to this issue before the Apex Court. The NCPCR raised the concern that the adoption of a child by parents of the same sex can adversely affect the child.
The NCPCR by means of this said application sought that same-sex couples should not be allowed the right to adopt children as the same can be detrimental to the growth and development of the child.
NCPCR to support their application also relied upon a study by Dr Paul Sullins who is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at The Catholic University Of America, according to this said study: In cases of children having parents belonging to the same sex, the child faces more development and emotional issues as compared to children who have parents belonging to opposite sexes.
NCPCR has essentially made the case that adoption by same-sex parents would be detrimental to a child’s interests.
NCPCR’s application also raised a point regarding the terms given in the legislation governing adoptions by Hindus, which makes use of the terms like “wife” while prescribing the adoption norms and conditions for males and females belonging to the Hindu religion, the said application, therefore, stated that these provisions do not apply to couples belonging to the same-sex.
Despite NCPCR’s stand disputing the notion of the grant of adoption rights to same-sex couples, the DCPCR on the other hand has lent its support to the cause of the petitioners and has taken a stand in favour of allowing succession and adoption rights to same-sex couples.
The Central Government has also had its say in this present matter as it had recently filed an application before the Apex Court seeking clarity from the court regarding the Maintainability of the petitions pertaining to same-sex marriage recognition.
The Central Government’s application, in essence, stressed the fact that where the broader spectrum of the population aligns with a particular definition and concept of marriage, then the legislature in recognising that particular concept or form is only performing its function of following the will of the people. The said application further pointed out that the clear democratic will of the people should not be invalidated by means of a judicial order.
The central government also made a rather controversial point which has been the subject of headlines that the petitions before the honourable court seeking recognition of marriage between Individuals of the same sex are a representation or portrayal of the views of the urban elite which are being furthered with the objective of achieving social acceptance.
The government further stressed that the legislature has to consider the views of the larger spectrum of the population across the urban, semi-rural and rural areas.
The Constitutional Bench of the honourable Supreme Court will look into the matter from tomorrow, that is from 18th April 2024.
Even before this present issue reached the doorstep of the said Constitutional Bench, there had been echoes of the desire for legal recognition of a marriage between two persons of the same sex ever since the Navtej Singh Johar case judgement of 2018 which marked a watershed moment in the history of the nation.
