• Top Indian court rejects same-sex marriage legalisation.
• The court considered arguments presented between April and May.
• The stance of the other two judges on this matter is yet to be determined.

India’s highest court issued a ruling on Tuesday, stating that it lacks the authority to legalize same-sex marriages and that such a decision should be within the jurisdiction of the parliament.

The verdict was delivered by a five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The court considered arguments presented between April and May of this year before announcing the ruling.

Chief Justice Chandrachud acknowledged that there was both agreement and disagreement on the extent to which the country should progress regarding same-sex marriages as he began reading the verdict.

Furthermore, two of the remaining four judges supported Chandrachud’s stance on not legalizing same-sex marriages, establishing a majority opinion.

However, the stance of the other two judges on this matter is yet to be determined.

This court ruling arrived five years after a significant 2018 judgment in which the Supreme Court of India abolished a colonial-era ban on gay sex.

Currently, only Taiwan and Nepal in Asia permit same-sex unions, as conservative values continue to hold sway in the region’s politics and society.

The Indian government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, opposed the petitions for same-sex marriage, characterizing them as “urban elitist views” and asserting that the parliament is the appropriate platform for discussing and legislating on this issue.

Additionally, the government argued that such marriages do not align with the traditional Indian family structure, characterized by a husband, a wife, and children.