Senior BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi has opposed legalisation of same-sex marriage, claiming some Left-liberal people and activists wanted to impose western laws in the country.
He asked the government to strongly oppose any such attempt. Modi also said it would not be appropriate if two judges sit in the Supreme Court and make a decision on it.
Raising the issue of gender-neutral legal marriageable age through a special mention in Rajya Sabha, he also called for the need for gender-neutral legal marriageable age.
Modi pointed out the Muslim Personal Law permitted girls to enter into marriages upon attaining puberty, which created a dichotomy in the Indian legal architecture because the law fails to be in consonance with Pocso Act.
The MP also said the judiciary should not give a judgement in favour of same-sex marriage, which is against the cultural ethos of the country.
There should be a debate in Parliament and society. Some Left-liberals and activists want to imitate the west and impose such laws in the country. I hope the government will strongly oppose any such move, he said.
Within India, he said, same-sex marriage is neither recognised nor accepted by any uncodified person laws and codified statutes governing the institution of marriage in the country.
It would hence cause complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country, he said.
Laws related to adoption, domestic violence, divorce and the right to stay in marital homes are associated with the institution of marriage between men and women. Moreover, marriage is an institution wherein both men and women live together and carry forward the human chain by producing children, he said.
On November 25, the Supreme Court had issued notice to the Union government and the Attorney General on two petitions seeking recognition of same-sex marriages under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The court decided to examine two petitions: one by Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dang; and another by Parth Phiroze Mehrotra and Uday Raj Anand on legal sanctity for LGBTQ+ marriages.
