Centre says, ‘same sex marriage against our society, values and not permissible’

The Centre has told Delhi High Court that marriage between same sex couples was “not permissible” as it is not recognized by “our laws, legal system, society and our values”.

The submission was made before a Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan by Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta during the hearing of a PIL seeking a declaration that same sex marriages be recognized under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) and Special Marriage Act.

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Mehta opposed the relief sought in the petition saying “our laws, our legal system, our society and our values do not recognize a marriage, which is a sacrament, between same sex couples”.

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He said the plea to grant recognition to or permit registration of such marriages was “not permissible” for two reasons; firstly, the petition was asking the court to legislate and secondly, any relief granted “would run contrary to various statutory provisions”.

“Unless court does violence to various laws, this cannot be done,” he added.

The counsel for the petitioner stated that the affected people were not coming forward as they feared reprisals and therefore a PIL was preferred. The Bench has listed the matter for further hearing on October 21.

-PTC News