https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221125-india-s-top-court-to-weigh-same-sex-marriage-recognitionNew Delhi (AFP) – India's top court decided Friday to proceed with a case weighing legal recognition of same-sex marriages, four years after the same institution struck down a colonial-era ban on gay sex.
The case, brought by a gay couple who informally exchanged vows last year, could pave the way for India to become the second jurisdiction in Asia to recognise same-sex marriage after Taiwan.
Petitioners Abhay Dange and Supriyo Chakraborty told the New Indian Express newspaper after their wedding ceremony that they hoped "to live in a world with no closets". They are now asking the Supreme Court for the same marital rights as straight couples.
A bench led by chief justice Dhananjaya Chandrachud asked the government to file its response within a month.
Any court ruling in favour of the couple's petition would trump opposition from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration, which has resisted previous attempts to formally recognise same-sex relationships in lower courts.
