India’s S’Court declines to legalize same-sex marriage, leaves burden to parliament

The Indian Supreme Court has refused to legalize same-sex marriages in the Asian country, with Chief Justice DY Chandrachud saying on Tuesday that the decision was up to Parliament if it wanted to create such a law.

Justice Chandrachud however, urged the government to uphold the rights of the LGBTQ community and end discrimination against them.

The Supreme Court had earlier this year heard 20 petitions that sought to legalize same-sex marriage in the world’s most populous country but Chandrachud said there were degrees of agreement and disagreement among the justices “on how far we have to go” on same-sex marriages.

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“This court can’t make law. It can only interpret it and give effect to it,” Chandrachud said, adding that it was up to Parliament to decide whether it could expand marriage laws to include same-sex unions.

Tuesday’s judgment comes after the court had, in 2018 struck out a colonial-era law that had made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison and expanded constitutional rights for the gay community.

The decision is also seen as a historic victory for LGBTQ community, with one judge saying it would “pave the way for a better future.”

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