During the hearing on two petitions related to gay marriage, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday said, "If the customs recognize gay marriage, then all laws will also accept it." Be it the Special Marriage Act (SMA) or the Foreign Marriage Act (FMA).
A bench of Justices RS Endlaw and Asha Menon said, "Marriage is defined here by us." In which gay marriage is not valid. The definition of marriage is not fixed in SMA or FMA. Everyone recognizes marriage based on practices. If the practices recognize gay marriage, then the law will also give. In the petitions that the bench was hearing, one sought permission to allow marriage under SMA and in other to register the marriage under FMA. The court has issued notices to the Central Government, the Delhi Government, and the New York Consulate in this matter seeking answers. The bench will hear the matter on 8 January.
The court said the SMA law was created because there was no practice for inter-religion and inter-caste marriages. The bench, meanwhile, raised doubts as to whether the petitioners should also challenge the definition of marriage under the practices. The bench suggested that if the petitioners want this and want a change in the petition, then do it now, do not wait for further.
The court said, the language of the law is not gender-based. Therefore, while interpreting the law, meaning should be taken keeping in mind the interests of all citizens. The court's remarks came after the response of lawyer Rajkumar Yadav presented by the Ministry of External Affairs. Yadav told the court, such a situation has come for the first time in the history of 5000 years of Sanatan Dharma. The petitioners' counsel Maneka Guruswamy said, "The petitioners are not seeking relief under any practice or religious law." He is seeking to implement laws like the SMA and FMA that couples get for themselves. Guruswamy pointed out, SMA and FMA are not based on law practices.