A plea has been filed in the Delhi High Court by the petitioner seeking marriage rights for same-sex couples in India. The petition was filed by Dr. Kavita Arora, who has been living with her partner Ankita Khanna for about 8 years, thus the petition seeks for direction to be issued to the Marriage Officer, South East Delhi to formalize their marriage under the Special Marriage Act.
The petitioner in her case states that the fundamental rights give her the right to choose one’s own partner for purpose of marriage under Article 21 of the Constitution of India which equally extends to same-sex couples also. Any contrary reading of the petition it is contended that it would violate the equality before the law and would go against the spirit of the
Supreme Court’s Judgment in the Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India.
The petition reads, “The law bestows myriad legal rights and protections in matters of succession, taxation, insurance, maintenance, pension, health and marital privileges that are unavailable to unmarried couples. The petitioners are deprived of all the legal rights and social benefits that flow from the institution of marriage as the Special Marriage Act excludes same-sex couples.”
The petitioners further submitted that they didn’t seek to be left alone but the right to be recognized as equals and to be embraced with dignity by the law. It was further contended, that the Navtej Johar judgment has held that sexual orientation places a positive and negative obligation on the State, which needs to be fulfilled by the State diligently in a non-discrimination manner under Article 15 of the Constitution.
The petition states, “The right to choose a marital partner is a positive obligation of the State to be fulfilled by bringing changes in the existing marriage laws. Excluding same sex-marriages from legislation governing civil marriage outside personal law renders the Special Marriage Act as violative of constitutional guarantees of dignity, liberty, and equality.”
The matter was heard by the Single Bench of Justice Navin Chawla on 8th October, Thursday who has directed the matter to be listed before the division bench on October 14, 2020. The counsel representing the petitioner was Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswami, Ms. Arundhati Katju, Mr. Govind Manoharan, and Ms. Surabhi Dhar.
Delhi HC Issues Notice in a Plea Seeking Marriage Equality for Same-Sex Couples Under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
Judiciary
Nov 20, 2020
M V Manasa
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Editor: Ekta Joshi
)
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A notice in a plea has been issued by the Delhi High Court seeking registration of same-sex marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act. The notice has been issued to the Union of India which was also directed to file a counter-affidavit in four weeks by the division bench of Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Justice Asha Menon. This order has come in a plea which is moved by Abhijit Iyer Mitra who sought registration of marriages of LGBTQIA couples under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.During today’s...
“Our Culture And Law Do Not Recognize The Concept Of Same-Sex Marriages”- SG Mehta To Delhi HC
Executive
Sep 15, 2020
Rhea Banerjee
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Editor: Ekta Joshi
)
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The Centre opposed the plea filed before the Delhi High Court seeking recognition of the rights of same-sex couples to get married under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1956. The Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta representing the Union of India submitted his arguments stating that same-sex marriages are neither known nor recognized under the Indian culture or the Indian law. The Solicitor General clarified, “Our culture and law don’t recognize the concept of same-sex marriages”“As per law, a...
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