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‘2 judges can’t decide’: Sushil Modi’s sharp pitch against same-sex marriage
The BJP leader’s pitch against same-sex marriage comes days after a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud on December 14 agreed to consider transferring to itself petitions pending in high courts that seek legal recognition of same-sex marriages
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday demanded that legal sanction should not be provided to a marriage between individuals of the same sex, saying same-sex marriage was against the cultural ethos of the country and allowing it will “play havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws”.
“In India, same-sex marriage is neither recognised nor accepted in any uncodified personal laws like Muslim Personal law or any codified statutory laws. Same-sex marriage would cause complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country,” the 70-year-old former Bihar deputy chief minister told the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour.
The BJP leader’s pitch against same-sex marriage comes days after a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud on December 14 agreed to consider transferring to itself petitions pending in high courts that seek legal recognition of same-sex marriages under the Special Marriage Act.
On November 24, the top court also told the Union government to respond within four weeks to a clutch of petitions demanding legal recognition of same-sex marriages and requested attorney general R Venkataramani to assist in the matter. The cases are expected to be taken up in January.
In its 2018 judgment, the top court decriminalised homosexuality but steered clear of civil rights issues.
In its affidavit filed before the Delhi high court in 2021, the Union government strongly opposed the validation of same-sex marital unions, underlining that a marriage in India can be recognised only if it is between a “biological man” and a “biological woman” capable of producing children. It made the same point before the high court in 2020 as well.
In the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Modi asked the central government to strongly place its views against same-sex marriage when the matter is taken up by the Supreme Court. He said two judges couldn’t sit in a room and decide on this social issue. “This should be debated in Parliament...This should be debated in society,” he said.
The BJP leader also asked the Supreme Court not to deliver a judgment “that will be against the country’s cultural ethos”.
He argued that laws related to adoption, domestic violence, divorce, and the right to stay in marital home are associated with the “institution of marriage between men and women”.
“Moreover, marriage is an institution wherein both men and women live together and carry forward the human chain by producing children,” he said.
The BJP leader blamed “some left-liberal democratic people” and “some activists” for seeking validation of same-sex marriage, saying there were 33 countries in the world which have legalised same-sex. “Japan is the only one among the G7 countries that does not legalise same sex marriages,” he said.
