New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule on Friday, April 1 introduced a private member’s Bill in the Lok Sabha to legalise same-sex marriage, and provide the same marital rights to LGBTQIA+ couples that heterosexual people are entitled to. The Bill proposes to fix the age of marriage at 21 years if both partners are male, and 18 years for female partners.
It proposes to replace the words “husband” and “wife” with “spouse” by amending the various sections of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
“In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down an archaic, draconian legislation of IPC — Section 377. Through this landmark judgment, Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India, homosexuality was effectively decriminalised. While this was a much-needed, progressive leap forward, LGBTQIA+ individuals still face discrimination and social stigma within society,” Sule said in a series of tweets after introducing the Bill.
In the statement of ‘Objects and Reasons’ of the Bill, Sule said, “While the determination of one’s sexual orientation has been realised, LGBTQIA+ individuals are still unable to marry and create their own families. In addition, LGBTQIA+ couples have no access to rights that heterosexual couples are entitled to upon marriage, such as succession, maintenance and pensions, etc. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to amend the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to legalise same-sex marriage, and provide Iegal recognition to married LGBTQIA+ couples.”
A similar private member’s Bill was introduced by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP D.N.V. Senthilkumar S., which talked about providing rights to LGBTQIA+ persons so that they can live with dignity.
