On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages in the country, doing so by a 3-2 majority. As many as four judgments were delivered and a slew of observations made by the apex court. Now, in an interview to India Today, actor Celina Jaitly has said that the ‘LGBT community is only asking for rights that every other citizen of India has’. She added that as an ‘LGBT activist for the past 20 years’, she was definitely disappointed by the ruling by the Supreme Court (SC). Also read: Onir reacts to Supreme Court’s same sex marriage verdict
Celina says right to marriage is ‘most important right’
Celina said, “The marriage ruling (Supreme Court) is definitely a disappointment. Something that I have said in my journey as a LGBT activist for the past 20 years is that the LGBT community is not asking for a different subset of rights. They are only asking for rights that every other citizen of India has. The right to a marriage, a family, is the most important right that a human being can possess. So I sincerely hope that the Parliament will upgrade the special marriages act and make it gender neutral.”
The actor added, “On a positive note, the court recorded a statement that it will remain committed to examining the rights and benefits which can be given to the queer couples. I think this is a step in the right direction. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
About the SC verdict
A five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court headed by chief justice of India DY Chandrachud on Tuesday ruled in a 3:2 verdict against giving constitutional validity to same-sex marriages. The top court said it is for the Parliament to formulate legislation on it.
The bench comprising chief justice DY Chandrachud, and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha delivered the verdict it had reserved on May 11 this year.
Activists and those from the LGBTQ+ community were hoping for a decision in their favour. Meanwhile, there were others, who were rooting for the Supreme Court’s current verdict, as according to them legalising same-sex marriage would have distorted the social fabric of the country.