IN INDIA MARRIAGE CAN BE ONLY HELD BETWEEN A BIOLOGICAL MAN AND A BIOLOGICAL WOMAN - SG TUSHAR MEHTA

On behalf of the central government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted before the Delhi High Court that marriage can only be held between a biological man and a biological woman in India. The Delhi HC bench was hearing a batch of petitions seeking recognition of same-sex marriage under various laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act, the Special Marriages Act, and the Foreign Marriage Act.

Mehta told the bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh that the question in the batch of petitions is whether marriage is permissible between homosexual couples. He went on to say that the Navtej Singh Johar case merely decriminalizes same-sex relations, but it does not allow same-sex marriage. Senior Advocate Saurabh Kirpal, appearing for a petitioner, disagreed and argued that the judgment made in the Navtej Singh Johar case had been interpreted differently.

Advocate Karuna Nundy, appearing for another petitioner, said that her case is on a different question concerning the Foreign Marriages Act. She said that when a couple gets married in a country where same-sex marriage is allowed, same-sex couples should be allowed to register their marriage in India as well.

The bench was informed that the respondents are yet to file their pleadings, and hence, the bench listed the matter for further hearing on November 30.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal