ONLY SAME SEX MARRIAGE VALID SAYS CENTER IN DELHI HIGHCOURT
Discriminating homosexuality has nothing to do with same sex marriage as marriage can take place only between biological men and biological women and is valid union government told the Delhi High court on Monday.
“The law is settled, either with or without the Navtej Johar case (a reference to the judgment decriminalizing homosexuality). The law is settled, personal laws are settled and marriage, which is contemplated, is between a biological man and biological woman,” solicitor general Tushar Mehta told a bench of chief justice DN Patel and justice Jyoti Singh.
The court was hearing clutches of pleas seeking legal recognition of same sex marriage under Special Marrige Act, Foreign Marrige Act, including those by Giti Thadani , Gopi Shankar and G Oorvasi.
The bench was also hearing a plea by three persons, Joydeep Sengupta, an OCI (overseas citizen of India), Russell Blaine Stephens, a US citizen, and Mario D’Penha, an Indian citizen and queer rights academic and activist pursuing a PhD at Rutgers University, for allowing a foreign-origin spouse of an OCI cardholder apply for registration regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
Through Advocate karuna Nundy all the petitioners said that queer- Marrige should be legally recognised in India under different statues.
Advocate Nundy said The government is yet to respond on this aspects.
Section 7 A (1) (d) of the Citizenship Act does not distinguish between heterosexual, same-sex or queer spouses(husband and wife), she said.
It provides that a person married to an OCI, whose marriage is registered and subsisting for two years, should be declared eligible to apply as a spouse for an OCI card.
The Centre has opposed the pleas, saying a marriage in India can be recognised only if it is between a “biological man” and a “biological woman” capable of producing children, strongly opposing the validation of same-sex marital unions.
Following this, the court posted the matter for November 30 for a final hearing, while granting liberty to the parties to file written submissions.
Article by Istuti Chettri.
