The Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging its landmark decision to deny legal recognition to same-sex marriages. A five-judge bench of Justice BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, Justice BV Nagarathna, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice Dipankar Datta reviewed the petitions 'in chambers.'

In its October 2023 judgment the bench emphasized "no error apparent on the face of the record," restating that their earlier decision adhered to constitutional principles and required no interference.

The five-judge Constitution bench, in its October verdict, refused to give legal recognition to same-sex marriages or civil unions, with a 3-2 majority ruling. The majority opinion came from Justice S Ravindra Bhat, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice PS Narasimha.

The judges were unanimous in their opinion that it was not possible to tweak the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to allow same-sex marriage, but later in the minority judgement, former judges of the Supreme Court, CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice Kaul embraced extending civil union rights to same-sex couples. This dismissal has reignited the renewed calls for legislative intervention to recognize and uphold the rights of same-sex couples.

Source: NEWS