Same-sex marriage verdict: Parliament to decide if change in Special Marriage Act needed

Today, the much-awaited ruling by the Supreme Court will address petitions seeking official recognition of same-sex marriage. After an intense 10-day hearing, a five-judge constitution bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and consisting of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and P S Narasimha reserved their decision on the pleas on May 11.

Senior advocates such as Mukul Rohatgi, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Raju Ramachandran, Anand Grover, Geeta Luthra, KV Viswanathan, Saurabh Kirpal, and Menaka Guruswamy, on behalf of the petitioners, emphasized the LGBTQIA+ community's equality rights and pushed for the recognition of a union that would guarantee LGBTQIAs lead "dignified" lives, just like heterosexuals, during the lengthy hearings.

The Center, on the other hand, has been fighting the appeals, claiming that India's statutory framework has specifically approved marriages between biological men and women alone. On May 3, the Center informed the Supreme Court that it would form a committee under the direction of the Cabinet Secretary to look into administrative measures that same-sex couples could take to address their "genuine concerns" without getting into the legalization of their union.