The petition pointed out that in 2018, the Supreme Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalized homosexuality. This is the second petition to be filed on the issue of same-sex marriage rights. In January, a couple in Kerala – Nikesh Pushkaran and Sonu MS – filed a petition in the Kerala high court challenging the Special Marriage Act. The Delhi HC petition was filed by four people – Abhijit Iyer Mitra, Gopi Shankar, Giti Thadani and G Oorvasi. Shankar pointed to a 2019 Madras high court judgment that upheld the marriage between a man and a transwoman, saying that the word ‘bride’ in the Hindu Marriage Act also included a transwoman.

Source: Hindustan Times September 13, 2020 18:08 UTC