India court to review same-sex marriage

India’s Supreme Court has agreed to examine a petition that seeks legal recognition of same-sex marriage, in a development that could build on a string of rulings expanding protection for the LGBTQ community.

The petition, which was filed this month by a couple, evoked India’s Special Marriage Act — a law that originally legalized interfaith unions. The couple drew on earlier landmark rulings in India, including one declaring privacy a fundamental right and another that decriminalized gay sex in 2018.

The petitioners have argued that barring them from marriage violates their right to equality. They told the court that the ability to marry has implications for personal liberty, adoption and financial matters.

The Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, has given the government four weeks to take a stance on the issue.

The case isn’t without precedent. The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, opposed legal recognition of same-sex marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act in a separate case that sought similar relief from a lower court. According to government lawyers, permitting same-sex marriages would go against cultural values in Indian society.