Court won’t back same-sex unions

NEW DELHI — India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea to legalize same-sex marriage, a stinging setback for gay people seeking equal rights in this socially conservative country of 1.4 billion people.

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said Tuesday that it was up to Parliament to create such a law, and also urged the government to uphold the rights of the queer community and end discrimination against them.

The judges ruled that transgender people can marry other transgender people, and expanded the definition of discrimination.

Tuesday’s judgment comes after the top court in 2018 struck down a colonial-era law that had made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison and expanded constitutional rights for the gay community.