Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Verdict Challenged; What Does Review Petition State?

New Delhi: A fortnight after Supreme Court refused to to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages, a review petition was filed before on Wednesday challenging the top court’s October 17 verdict.

The review petition, filed by one of the petitioners in the same-sex marriage case Udit Sood, described the Supreme Court verdict as ‘self-contradictory and manifestly unjust.’

“The discrimination faced by the queer community is acknowledged in the verdict but the cause of the discrimination is not removed. The legislative choices see same-sex couples as less than human by denying them equal rights,” stated the review petition.

“The majority judgement overlooks that marriage, at its core, is an enforceable social contract. The right to this contract is available to anyone capable of consenting. Adults of any faith or no faith may engage in it. No one group of people may define for another what ‘marriage’ means,” the petition further said.

A constitution bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha on October 17 ruled that the law as it stands today does not recognise the right to marry or right of same-sex couples to enter into civil unions, and that it is upto the Parliament to make laws enabling the same.

The Supreme Court also held that the law does not recognise rights of same-sex couples to adopt children.