Maharashtra Youth Congress bats for same-sex marriage

A day after Solicitor General SG Tushar Mehta told the Delhi High Court that marriage between samesex couples is not recognised by our laws legal system society and our values the Maharashtra Youth Congress has extended its wholehearted and unequivocal support for marriage equality in IndiaRepresenting the Union Government the SG on Monday opposed a Public Interest Litigation PIL to legalise samesex marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act HMA and Special Marriage Act He said Our laws our legal system our society and our values do not recognise marriage which is a sacrament between samesex couplesTime India did itThe youth wing of the main opposition party has said It is time that India takes her rightful place amongst the 27 progressive countries which recognise samesex marriage Marriage is about families and there is no mould of what a family should look like Samesex couples and their children deserve the recognition and protection of the law beginning with the Hindu Marriage Act and Special Marriage ActReadOur laws values dont recognise samesex marriage Centre to courtA statement signed by the Maharashtra unit president Satyajeet Tambe and spokesperson Latoya FernsAdvani urged the Delhi High Court to uphold Indias Right to Love This is a historic opportunity for the judiciary to further the frontiers of the Freedom to Love This was famously enshrined in the order of the fivejudge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India in September 2018 which decriminalised conjugal relations between consenting adults of the same sex and held Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional it saidAccording to the generation next Congress leaders it was unconscionable that the canard of cultural exceptionalism should be cited by the central government to violate this basic and universal human right to freely choose ones spouse bear or adopt children and safeguard property rights and succession within the legal system We the Maharashtra Youth Congress hold as foreign to Indias culture the colonial heteronormativity they espouse Lifelong love will always be a sacrament regardless of sex and gender the leaders addedViolation of Right to EqualityLawyer Abhijit Iyer Mitra and three others had filed a PIL in the Delhi High Court The petition has contended that despite the Supreme Court decriminalising consensual homosexual acts marriages between samesex couples are still not possibleThe SG had said the petition cant be permissible because it asked the court to legislate and any relief granted would run contrary to various statutory provisions under the Hindu Marriage Act He raised a question on who would be assigned the roles of wife and husband where a samesex couple was concerned Mehta told the court that the 2018 judgment of the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court merely decriminalises homosexuality or lesbianism nothing more nothing lessThe court has asked the lawyer appearing for the petitioner to give details of the people who were not permitted to register their samesex marriage The bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan has listed the matter for further hearing on October 21With inputs from PTI21Day next month when Delhi HC will hear matter nextKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news