SC urged to use authority to ensure acceptance of same-sex marriages

The petitioners seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to use its plenary power "prestige and moral authority to push the society to acknowledge such a union as would ensure LGBTQIA persons lead a dignified life like heterosexuals as they have no representation in Parliament.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for one of the petitioners, urged before a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud the State should come forward and provide recognition to same-sex marriage.

Rohatgi referred to judgements, including the one that decriminalised consensual gay sex, to say the court was revisiting something which has already been decided.

If the consensual sexual relationship in private is accepted legally then the next natural consequence is the validation of the marriage so that homosexuals are not treated as lesser mortals in public space, he said.

Our parents have accepted us despite belonging to older ...