The Delhi High Court on December 6 was informed by the counsel of petitioners that the Supreme Court has recently agreed to examine the pleas for legal recognition of ‘same-sex marriage’ under the Special Marriage Act and has also issued a notice to the Centre on the petition.
The right to marry a person of one’s choice is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution of India to each person and has been recognized explicitly by this Court, the petitioners submitted.
The denial of this fundamental right to marry a person of one’s choice to a same-sex couple is violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution, including Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(a), and 21, the petitioners further submitted.
The apex court has also expressly held that members of the LGBTQ+ community have the same human, fundamental and constitutional rights as other citizens, the petitioners further stated.
The Public Interest Litigation was filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India by the petitioners who belong to the LGBTQ+ community.
The petitioners said that they have been in love with each other and have had a relationship with each other for the last seventeen years and are presently raising two children together, but unfortunately the fact that they cannot legally solemnize their marriage has resulted in a situation where both petitioners cannot have a legal relationship between parents and children with both of their kids.
The bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad deferred these matters for April 2023.