The Centre on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that in spite of decriminalisation of homosexuality under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, same-sex marriage was not a fundamental right in the country, Bar and Bench reported. In an affidavit on a batch of petitions on the matter, the Centre also submitted that a same-sex couple living together as partners and having a sexual relationship was not comparable with an “Indian family unit”.
A bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Amit Bansal had asked the Centre to file its response against three petitions seeking recognition of same-sex marriages under the Special Marriage Act, Hindu Marriage Act and Foreign Marriage Act. On Thursday, four more people from the LGBTIQ community approached the Delhi High Court seeking similar provisions, according to PTI.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, submitted the affidavit in response to the earlier pleas and sought time to respond to the fresh petitions.
The matter will next be heard on April 20.
