The Indian authorities opposes recognizing same-sex marriages and has urged the nation’s Supreme Courtroom to reject authorized challenges by LGBTQI {couples}.
The Ministry of Regulation believes that whereas there could also be numerous types of relationships in society, the authorized recognition of marriage is for heterosexual relationships and the state has a reputable curiosity in sustaining this, in keeping with the court docket submitting made on Sunday.
“Dwelling collectively as companions and having sexual relations by identical intercourse people … is just not comparable with the Indian household unit idea of a husband, a spouse and youngsters,” the ministry argued.
The court docket can’t be requested “to alter the complete legislative coverage of the nation deeply embedded in non secular and societal norms”, it mentioned.
In a historic verdict in 2018, India’s high court docket decriminalized homosexuality by scrapping a colonial-era ban on homosexual intercourse. The present case is being seen as an extra vital growth on LGBTQI rights within the nation.
No less than 15 pleas, some by homosexual {couples}, have been filed in latest months asking the court docket to acknowledge same-sex marriages, setting the stage for this authorized face-off with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities.
Asia largely lags the West in accepting same-sex marriage.
Taiwan was the primary within the area to acknowledge such unions, whereas same-sex acts are unlawful in some international locations, equivalent to Malaysia. Singapore final 12 months ended a ban on homosexual intercourse however took steps to bar same-sex marriages.
Japan is the one nation among the many Group of Seven nations that doesn’t legally acknowledge same-sex unions, though the general public broadly favors recognition.
In India, the problem of same-sex marriage is delicate: talking overtly about homosexuality is taboo for a lot of within the socially conservative nation of 1.four billion folks.
The difficulty has stoked feelings within the media and in parliament, the place a member of Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist social gathering in December requested the federal government to strongly oppose the petitions filed within the high court docket.
