Married in Texas, gay Indian couple seeks rights in India

NEW DELHI: In a gay relationship since 2012, Vaibhav and Parag got married in Texas in 2017 and with a recently-adopted four month old baby in hand, they through senior advocate Geeta Luthra on Tuesday pleaded with the Supreme Court to make Foreign Marriage Act gender neutral.
The gay partners, seen tending the baby, appeared through virtual mode in the proceedings before a five-judge Constitution bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud, who on Monday had disapproved advocate Mathews Nedumpara for pointing at a woman petitioner to inform the court she had come five times to seek early hearing of her petition. “We don’t need an exhibit here,” the CJI had said.
Luthra said, Texas laws recognise same-sex marriage. “They are free and equal in other countries but on coming to India, they become non-married. During the Covid pandemic, visas were granted to spouses to visit their home country, but this couple was denied as their marriage was not recognised in India. The SC should make the FM Act gender neutral to allow them to register their marriage here.”
She said, “Marriage, the oldest social institution, has never been a static concept. Inter-caste and inter-faith marriages were not recognised earlier. Some countries did not recognise inter-racial marriages. But marriage as an institution has evolved to usher in equality in social relationships.”
Senior advocate Saurav Kirpal said 1.7% of the GDP gets affected by non-recognition of gay marriage as the best of the gay brains leave the country to find freedom of choice of partners and marriage in other countries.
Senior advocate Anand Grover said the LGBTQIA+ community members cannot wait for Parliament, which will take its own time, for recognition of their right to marriage, akin to that of heterosexual couples. “The right to marriage is a fundamental right which cannot be curtailed on the ground that same-sex couples lack the capacity to procreate,” he said.
Senior advocate Jayna Kothari said the right to marriage is irrespective of gender identity and sexual orientation. “Right to marry confers the right to have a family, which is not a heterosexual phenomenon as family gives a person stability, dignity, social recognition and emotional support.”
Senior advocate Menka Guruswamy said world over, 5-7% of the population identifies themselves as LGBTQIA+. So in India millions belong to this community and the government cannot tell the court to wait for Parliament to recognize their fundamental rights. Citing the Indian Psychiatric Society’s statement favouring marriage rights to same-sex couples, which was published on the eve of SC hearing on April 18, Guruswamy said right to marriage is intrinsically linked to right to life.