A Supreme Court Constitution Bench made up of five justices is referred petitions to recognize same-sex weddings by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud.
On April 18, the court set the case for closing arguments. Invoking Article 145(3) of the Constitution, the three-judge bench—which also includes Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala—refers the case to a Constitution Bench.
According to Article 145(3), a bench of at least five judges must consider matters involving significant constitutional issues and interpretation.
In the interest of the general public, the case hearing will begin live streaming on April 18.
The case, according to Chief Justice Chandrachud, involves an "interplay" between the constitutional rights to life, liberty, and dignity as well as the equal treatment of LGBTQ+ community members, as well as particular statutory provisions that only take into account married union between a biological man and woman.
The petitioners stated that the Court's decision in Navtej Singh Johar in 2018 protected each person's right to family and partner choice while simultaneously decriminalizing homosexuality.
While citing the "established opinion" that a marriage between a biological man and woman is a "holy union, a sacrament, and a sanskar" in India, the Government in the Supreme Court's affidavit disapproved of same-sex unions.
The institution of marriage has a sacred quality to it and is revered as a sacrament, a holy union, and a sanskar in much of the nation. The Centre stated in a 56-page affidavit submitted on March 12 that "marriage inherently rests upon age-old customs, rituals, practices, cultural ethos, and societal values" despite statutory acknowledgment of the connection of marriage between a biological man and a biological woman.
