India’s Supreme Court declines to legalise same-sex marriage

A chief justice at India’s Supreme Court has declared that it does not have the authority to legalise same-sex marriages.

According to Dailymail on Tuesday, a five-judge panel led by Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, deliberated on the case between April and May this year and announced its verdict today.

Chandrachud acknowledged that there were both areas of agreement and disagreement regarding the extent to which the nation should recognise same-sex marriages as he commenced reading the order.

READ ALSO: Museveni slams World Bank for freezing loans over anti-gay law

Of the four other judges, two concurred with Chandrachud on the court’s decision not to legalize same-sex marriages, establishing a majority. The remaining two judges are yet to express their views.

The news was met with disappointment by those who had gathered outside the court in the hope of celebrating India’s potential recognition as the second Asian jurisdiction, outside of Taiwan, to legalise same-sex marriages.

The petitioners had argued that validating same-sex marriage would grant them access to legal benefits associated with matrimony, including adoption, insurance, and inheritance.

The court’s ruling comes five years after a historic 2018 judgment when the Supreme Court overturned a colonial-era ban on gay sex.