‘We are second class citizens,’ say members of LGBTQ community on same sex marriage verdict

Members of the LGBTQIA community on Tuesday expressed their disappointment in the Supreme Court judgement that refused to legalise same-sex marriages and left it to Parliament to formulate a law on the matter.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud delivered its verdict on Tuesday in response to a batch of pleas seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriages. The bench, which also included Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha, delivered four separate judgements.

The court said that it cannot create a legal framework for queer couples because that is the job of Parliament. The bench also said that there is no fundamental right to marriage. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the Centre will form a committee to decide the rights and entitlements of persons in queer unions.

After the judgement was delivered, advocate Rohin Bhatt, one of the lawyers representing the petitioners in the case, said that the verdict has relegated the community to an “unsympathetic” legislature.

“Today the court has reaffirmed that queer citizens will be relegated to an unsympathetic legislature and an apathetic executive,” Bhatt said in a tweet. “We are second class citizens, no matter how many judicial platitudes say otherwise. We will...

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