SC Begins Hearing Pleas Seeking Same-Sex Marriage Legalisation — Here's How To Watch Proceedings Live

Supreme Court will also hear a plea today by the Centre questioning the maintainability of the petitions seeking legal validation of same-sex marriage.

Five-judge Constitutional bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud hearing pleas seeking legal validation of same-sex marriage in the country.

Source : YouTube/Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court has started to hear a batch of petitions seeking legal validation of same-sex marriage in the country. A five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices S K Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, P S Narasimha and Hima Kohli is hearing the petitions which were referred to the bench for an authoritative pronouncement on March 13 by the CJI-led bench, saying it is “very seminal issue”.

The proceedings of the court will be streamed live and can be viewed on the official YouTube channel of the Supreme Court at https://www.youtube.com/@supremecourtofindia5950. The hearing can also be accessed live on Supreme Court's official website at https://main.sci.gov.in/

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud begins hearing a batch of petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage pic.twitter.com/WWRG9lmMAQ

— ANI (@ANI) April 18, 2023

The Centre has opposed the petitions claiming they will cause “complete havoc” with the delicate balance of personal laws and accepted societal values and the top court will also hear a plea today by the Centre questioning the maintainability of the petitions seeking legal validation of same-sex marriage.

On Monday, the Centre filed a fresh application before the apex court raising the question of the maintainability of the petitions as a preliminary issue.

The prayers made would entail the judicial creation of a social institution called “marriage” of a different kind than contemplated under the existing law, Centre stated in its application. 

Any further creation of rights, recognition of relationships and giving legal sanctity to such relationships can be done only by the competent legislature and not by judicial adjudication, it added. 

The Centre also said that the petitions have “far-reaching implications” and that the petitioners seeking recognition of same-sex marriage “do not represent the view of the entire population of the nation." 

Meanwhile, the petitioners have all their hopes pinned on the apex court, which they believe won't disappoint the LGBTQ+ community. 

Speaking to ABP Live, the petitioners said this is a question of fundamental rights in the Constitution, which must be upheld even if it does not have social or majority support because that is not the yardstick.

In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalised consensual gay sex in private.