- Thursday, May 09, 2024
We are exactly at the same place where we were before the judgment came out since this verdict does not extend any kind of rights that were not already in place, he said.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Supreme Court of India on Tuesday (17) declined to legally recognise same-sex marriages, leaving the country’s LGBTQ+ community extremely disappointed. Activists fighting for the community’s rights even said the top court failed to uphold the constitutional rights of the people of India to not be discriminated against on the basis of their sexuality.
India Weekly contacted Ankit Bhuptani, an LGBT rights activist and the founder of Queer Hindu Alliance, to speak over the matter and he too was not impressed.
“I will not be exaggerating if I say that the reason this Supreme Court judgment is actually no judgment is that we are exactly at the same place where we were before the judgment came out. This is because this judgment does not extend any kind of rights that were not already in place when the petitions were filed,” he said.
“The only bright side we can see is that transgender folks have the rights to marriage, which are explicitly expressed in the judgment, but they were already granted by the NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) judgment and the transgender act earlier. This judgment simply confirms the rights of transgender individuals who wish to get married within the gender binaries in existing personal laws,” he added.
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On Tuesday, Bhuptani wrote on his Instagram post, “We commend the Indian Supreme Court’s decision to recognize the right of transgender individuals to marry under existing personal laws. However, our disappointment is profound as the court fell short of acknowledging the equal rights of same-sex relationships, affirming that we are equal citizens of India.”
“We believe that committees formed without a clear timeframe, composition, and decision-making authority are ultimately ineffective. The Supreme Court’s directive essentially echoes what the Solicitor General had promised during the hearings. Now, the responsibility for further action lies squarely with the government,” he said.
It was after the Indian solicitor general Tushar Mehta proposed on behalf of the government to form a committee, headed by a top bureaucrat, to consider giving queer couples rights and privileges that are available to heterosexual couples.
The government had said that only the parliament could discuss a socio-legal issue such as marriage and argued that allowing same-sex marriage would cause “chaos” in society. The judges agreed saying that only parliament could make law and the judges could only interpret them.
Bhuptani said the latest judgment by the top court is disappointing because despite recognising the vast community, its struggles and its need for equal rights, it doesn’t do anything to deliver on them. He said while in an ideal world, it is the duty of the parliament and elected policymakers to create and amend laws in line with the current reality of any democracy, things were far from reality in India and the queer community had no other option but to approach the judiciary.
He said if anyone wanted to summarise the judgment, it would be “You are real. Your struggles are real. Your causes are real. You deserve all the equal rights. But go to the politicians”.
The activist, however, believes that it is still not the end of the road for the queer community.
“If there’s one thing we, the queer community, have learned, it’s resilience. We did not lose hope when we were considered criminals. We did not lose hope when the Delhi High Court’s decriminalising judgment was challenged in the Supreme Court. We did not lose hope when the same Supreme Court gave a negative judgment in 2013, and we will not give up even today. Our community has full faith in this country, its institutions, and democracy, and we will continue our fight for equality,” he added.
