Indian Men And Women Fight For Same-Sex Marriages At New Delhi High Court

JAKARTA - Courts in New Delhi have heard how India's failure to allow same-sex marriage violates its constitution.

The claims emerged when the New Delhi High Court began hearing the two cases.

First, two women said officials denied their right to marry under the Special Marriage Law (SMA). The law became law in 1954 and allows Indians to marry regardless of caste or religion.

Meanwhile, reported by the New Indian Express , Saturday, October 17, the court is also hearing the case of two men who tried to register their marriage in the US under India's Foreign Marriage Act (FMA).

The petitioners say 'not recognizing same-sex marriage is an act of reckless discrimination that strikes at the roots of the dignity and self-fulfillment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer couples'.

The Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court DN Patel and Judge Prateek Jalan agreed to hear this case with an open mind. While noting that they have not yet made a legal decision, they commented 'change is happening around the world'.

But India's Attorney General Tushar Mehta opposed the LGBT + petitioners. He said: 'Our culture and laws do not recognize the concept of same-sex marriage.'

The case comes two years after India's Supreme Court overturned a British colonial law against homosexuality in India.

The abolition of the anti-gay law - Article 377 - is the single greatest moment of liberation in the history of the LGBT + world.

Since then, the country's LGBT + activists pledged to continue to fight for true equality and acceptance. And access to same-sex marriage has emerged as a major battleground.