New Delhi: Udit Sood, one of the petitioners in the landmark same-sex marriage case, has lodged a review petition in the Supreme Court challenging its recent decision to deny legal recognition to same-sex marriages. In the petition, Sood vehemently criticised the Supreme Court’s ruling, labelling it “self-contradictory and manifestly unjust”.
“The discrimination faced by the queer community is acknowledged in the verdict but the cause of the discrimination is not removed. The legislative choices see same-sex couples as less than human by denying them equal rights,” the review petition read.
Additionally, the petition highlights the government’s stand and shows that the respondents believe LGBTQ people are “a problem”. “The majority judgement overlooks that marriage, at its core, is an enforceable social contract. The right to this contract is available to anyone capable of consenting. Adults of any faith or no faith may engage in it. No one group of people may define for another what ‘marriage’ means,” the petition further read.
Earlier, in a unanimous ruling on October 17, the Supreme Court declined to provide legal recognition for same-sex marriages, asserting that the responsibility for enabling such unions lay with the Parliament to formulate appropriate laws. The five-judge constitution bench determined that there was no inherent fundamental right to marriage in this context.
Despite the differences in opinion within the five-judge bench, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul stood in support of recognising same-sex partnerships and advocated for anti-discrimination measures to protect LGBTQIA+ rights. However, the bench ultimately delivered a split verdict, with a 3:2 ruling against adoption, civil unions, and the recognition of queer couples.
The Supreme Court further called upon the government to establish a committee tasked with examining the rights and privileges of people in same-sex unions without legal recognition of their relationship as a “marriage”.