NEWS HGIHLIGHT
Theme : Government policies and interventions for development of various sectors, weaker sections of society and interventions for their development etc
Paper:GS-2
A Member of Parliament said that same-sex marriages are against the cultural ethos of India.A petition for marriage rights of same-sex couples (under the Special Marriage Act, 1954) is pending before the Supreme Court of India.
Context : A Member of Parliament said that same-sex marriages are against the cultural ethos of India.A petition for marriage rights of same-sex couples (under the Special Marriage Act, 1954) is pending before the Supreme Court of India.
LGBTIQ+ :
- LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning.
- These terms are used to describe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Issues faced by LGBTIQ+ Communities :
- Heterosexuality
- In-equality & Violence
- Deprived in Rights
- Isolation from society
- Conflict in Family itself
- Racial Discrimination
Obstacles in Adjudication :
- Legitimacy of the institution: whether courts should intervene in marriage rights or leave it to the wisdom of Parliament.
- The Court previously decriminalized consensual same-sex conduct on the basis of the ‘right to equality’ and not merely the ‘right to privacy’.
Special Marriage Act ,1954 :
- The Special Marriage Act is a central legislation made to validate and register interreligious and inter-caste marriages in India.
- It allows two individuals to solemnize their marriage through a civil contract.
- No religious formalities are needed to be carried out under the Act.
Global Practices :
- The European Court of Human Rights, in Dudgeon vs UK (1981): struck down the offense of buggery in Northern Ireland as violative of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.The court thus adopted a privacy approach and did not go into the question of equal treatment under Article 14.
- Oliari vs Italy(to seek marriage rights in Italy): The court reasoned that states could not be obligated to grant marriage equality, provided there was some form of legal recognition of their rights
- Fourie (2005)(South Africa): the Constitutional Court rejected the state’s argument that the Constitution only protected the right to establish family in private life without state interference and not to marry.
- S-(Lawrence vs Texas 2003) and granted marriage equality (Obergefell 2015): Both under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of its Constitution.It prohibits the state from taking away personal liberties without substantive and procedural fairness.
Road Ahead :
- The court focused on an all-encompassing meaning of equality in all spheres of life, essential for dignified living to overcome prejudice.
- The foundation of equal treatment ought to pave the way for marriage equality in India and not be left to the vagaries of the legislature.
- The Court is the only hope in claiming sequential rights where no active steps have been taken by the Government since the Court’s decision in 2018.
FAQs :
-
What is SMA,1954?
ANS.
- The Special Marriage Act is a central legislation made to validate and register interreligious and inter-caste marriages in India.
- It allows two individuals to solemnize their marriage through a civil contract.
- No religious formalities are needed to be carried out under the Act.
-
Who is LGBTIQ+ ?
ANS.
- LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning.
- These terms are used to describe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.