Same-sex marriage: Rajasthan opposes, 6 states seek more time to examine, says Centre to SC

The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it had received responses from seven states on the issue of same-sex marriage. While the Congress-led Rajasthan government is opposed to the idea.

Meanwhile Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Assam, and Sikkim have stated that they will need more time to investigate it.

The top court bench is hearing a batch of petitions seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriage on the ninth day. On April 19, the Centre informed the court that it had written to the chief secretaries of states informing them that the Supreme Court was hearing the same-sex marriage case.

The move to notify the states comes despite the Supreme Court’s earlier declaration on April 18 that it would not enter the realm of personal religious laws. The court had decided to limit its inquiry to whether the scope of the Special Marriage Act could be expanded to include same-sex marriages.

The Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it must recognize that the concept of marriage has evolved and accept the basic proposition that marriage itself is entitled to constitutional protection because it is more than just statutory recognition.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court stated that Indian laws allow an individual to adopt a child regardless of marital status, while also acknowledging that the law recognizes that there may be situations other than an “ideal family” having its own biological children.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) argued in its submission to the Supreme Court, which is hearing petitions seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriages, that the concept of gender may be “fluid,” but motherhood and motherhood are not.