Chief Justice DY Chandrachud raised a crucial question on Thursday, as the Supreme Court deliberated on the issue of same-sex marriages.
He asked whether marriage necessarily requires two spouses of opposite genders. He said that same-sex relationships are not merely physical, but also emotional and stable.
He said that legalising same-sex marriage would entail redefining the concept of marriage in an evolving society.
He pointed out that the law has changed a lot since 1954, when the Special Marriage Act was passed to allow civil marriages outside personal laws.
He also referred to the 2018 judgment that decriminalised homosexuality and recognised the rights of same-sex couples to have stable relationships.
The Chief Justice’s remarks came in contrast to the government’s stance, which opposed the reform as an “urban elitist” view.
The government argued that same-sex marriages are incompatible with the Indian notion of family, which consists of a husband, a wife and children.
The government also said that the matter should be left to the parliament, which represents the views and voices of a wider and diverse population. The government made these submissions in a document filed to the Supreme Court on Sunday.