Delhi HC defers petitions seeking recognition of same-sex marriages

New Delhi, Dec 6 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday deferred petitions seeking recognition of same-sex marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act.

The batch of petitions will be heard on April 24, 2023, the court said.

The division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium was informed that similar petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court.

The petitioner's counsel, Saurabh Kirpal, and the Central government's counsel informed the court about the petitions pending in the apex court seeking similar relief.

Kirpal urged the bench to give another date in the matter.

Recently, the Supreme Court had sought a response from the Centre on separate pleas by two gay couples seeking enforcement of their right to marry and a direction to the authorities to register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act.

The High Court has up to eight petitions by several same-sex couples seeking a declaration recognising their marriages under the Special Marriage Act, the Hindu Marriage Act, and the Foreign Marriage Act pending.

Despite the apex court decriminalising consensual homosexual acts, marriages between same-sex couples are not possible, petitioner Abhijit Iyer Mitra said while seeking a declaration to recognise such marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act.