On Tuesday, a petitioner argued before the Supreme Court that the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) community should not be stigmatized, but rather integrated into society through marriage equality.
The court stated during the hearing that the current matter would be limited to the Special Marriage Act and would not interfere with personal laws. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for one of the petitioners, stated that members of the LGBTQ+ community should not be stigmatized and should be integrated into society. According to the lawyer, assimilation of LGBTQ+ members will occur only after the state accepts same-sex marriage.
A five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and comprised of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and P.S. Narasimha, was hearing a batch of petitions pertaining to’marriage equality rights for LGBTQAI+ community’.
Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General (SG), stated that Hindus and Muslims will be affected, and that states should be heard when deciding the issue.
According to SG Mehta, the legislative intent has always been that marriage is between a biological man and a biological woman.