A five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud had on Tuesday - October 17 delivered a much-awaited verdict on the same-sex marriage ligitation. Hearing over a dozen of petitions filed by the LGBTQ activists, the majority of judges in the bench noted that the same-sex couples have no fundamental right to marry, while passing the ball to the Parliament. 

While CJI Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul disagreed with the other three judges, the majority verdict against the same-sex marriage poured a sense of disappointment on thousands of transgender people who sought to exercise the right to equality through winning a validation for same-sex marriage. 

According to the Bar and Bench, CJI Chandrachud and Justce Kaul disagreed with the majority decision to not recognize the right of same-sex couples to enter into marriages or have civil unions. They said, "The right to enter into a union cannot be restricted based on sexual orientation. Such a restriction will be violative of Article 15. Thus, this freedom is available to all persons regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation."

However, both of them said that it would be within the domain of Parliament to give legal recognition to same-sex marriages. By leaving the Parliament to decide on the issue, the CJI said that the Supreme Court cannot strike down the provisions of the Special Marriage Act (SMA) or read words differently. The focus of the petitions filed is the gender-neutral interpretation of the SMA. 

Justice Kaul said the legal recognition of civil unions for non-heterosexual couples represents a step towards marriage equality. Both of them pressed that the transgender persons in heterosexual relationships have the right to marry under existing law including personal laws which regulate marriage. The judges also said that the Central and state governments and the administrations of union territories shall not discriminate against the freedom of queer persons to enter into union with benefits under law.