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A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court will continue its hearing of the petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage in India for the third day today. The petitioners are seeking the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to read marriage as between “spouse” instead of “man and woman”, arguing that the different ages for the two sides – 18 and 21 – can be solved since there is already a bill to increase the age from 18 to 21 for both parties. The Centre’s argument, on the other hand, is that the subject should be decided in Parliament, rather than the courts. On Wednesday, the second day of the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, filed a fresh affidavit, asking the apex court to make all the states and Union Territories in the country a party to the ongoing proceedings. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who is representing the petitioners, told the bench that the LGBT community wants “real rights in day-to-day life”. He, along with Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, trashed the Centre’s charge that the petitions before the court reflect “urban elitist views for the purpose of social acceptance” and said terming it as such ignores the struggles of the LGBT community. The petitioners told the court that legal recognition of same-sex marriage will provide non-heterosexual couples with the benefits that are generally accorded to others, including the Gratuity Act, Pension Act, tax benefits, among others. For now, the five-judge bench expressed their wish to “steer clear of personal laws” and confine the current arguments within the ambit of the Special Marriage Act. Stay tuned with indiatoday.in for all the live updates on today’s proceedings.
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