Marriage Is Between A 'Biological' Man And Woman, Centre Tells Delhi HC

The law states marriage is a union between a biological man and woman, the centre argued before the Delhi High Court, Monday. A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh were hearing a set of petitions that sought recognition of same-sex marriages under various laws in India.

Referring to the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court that decriminalised homosexual relations, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the centre said the 2018 order did not make mention of marriage. To that end, he told the court the "the law is settled, personal laws are settled" that marriages are valid only between "biological" men and women.

As reported earlier, the pleas in question relate to the recognition of homosexual marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act and the Foreign Marriage Act.

The centre has previously too questioned the legality of same-sex marriages under Indian law. They argued before the HC, earlier this year, that queer unions were not a fundamental right and that present laws mandated the "contrary." Whether same-sex marriages would get legal authorisation was a matter to be decided by legislature, the centre said.

Earlier this week, the Delhi HC scheduled the final hearing of pleas in the matter on November 30.

Marriage Only Between Biological Man And Woman? Here's What The Petitions Seek

Appearing for petitioners Joydeep Sengupta (an overseas citizen of India) and Russell Blaine Stephens, a same-sex couple married in New York, United States, advocate Karuna Nundy argued that queer marriages recognised abroad in places that permit the relationships should be allowed registration in India.

India's Citizenship Act, for instance, Nundy pointed out, does not make a distinction of gender when it permits the spouse of an OCI to apply for an OCI card. "The Citizenship Act is silent on gender of couple... the onus on the State is only to register," she put forward, as quoted by Live Law.

SG Mehta contended that "spouse" would refer to either a husband or wife only.

Meanwhile, another petition led by Abhijit Iyer Mitra and three others seeks recognition of same-sex marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Responding to the petitions and seeking their dismissal, the centre in February this year told the court that the institution of marriage in India had a "sanctity" to it and depended "upon age-old customs, rituals, practices, cultural ethos and societal values." It could not be comparable to the "Indian family unit," the centre stated.

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