A bench of five judges will hear the matter

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court will on Thursday consider 13 petitions filed for review of its October 2023 verdict denying legal recognition to gay marriage. The hearing will be conducted by a bench of Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, Justice BV Nagarathna, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice Dipankar Dutta in their chambers.

Hearing will be held in the chamber

As per Supreme Court rules, review petitions are heard in chamber.

• Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to allow these petitions to be heard in open court.
• After Justice Sanjiv Khanna recused himself from the case, a new bench was constituted in July 2024.

What is the matter?

On 17 October 2023, the Supreme Court ruled by a majority of 3–2 that:

1. Legalizing same-sex marriage and civil unions is not a right protected by the Constitution.
2. This matter is within the jurisdiction of Parliament and State Legislatures.

The majority of judges held that the right of same-sex couples to marry is not directly protected by the Constitution.

• Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, while dissenting, emphasized the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.
• Both judges argued that LGBTQIA+ individuals should have the constitutional right to form unions and adopt children.

Why the need for reconsideration?

During the last mention of the matter, senior advocates Neeraj Kishan Kaul and Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that:

• This matter is related to national importance and social change.
• Such matters should be brought out of the scope of normal chamber hearings and brought to wider public discussion.

Supreme Court’s decision: Emphasis on legislative jurisdiction

In the decision of October 2023:

• Three judges had said that the right of same-sex couples to enter into marriage or civil unions is not protected under the Constitution.
• Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Khanna advocated for constitutional protection for the LGBTQIA+ community.
• He stressed the need to make enabling laws underlining the duty of the state.

Reconstructed back and forth process

• Justice Sanjay Khanna, now the Chief Justice of India (CJI), constituted the new bench in his administrative capacity.
• Now this new bench will consider 13 review petitions.