NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court’s newly constituted bench will, on January 9, consider the pleas seeking a review of its October 2023 verdict that declined legal sanction to same-sex marriage.According to the Supreme Court’s causelist, the review petitions will be considered at around 1:55 pm on January 9.The five-judge bench, led by Justice B.R. Gavai, along with Justices Surya Kant, B.V. Nagarathna, P.S. Narasimha, and Justice Dipankar Datta, will take up around 13 petitions related to same-sex marriage in chambers.It is important to note that the review petitions are being heard in chambers, where the presence of any party—whether petitioner, respondent, lawyer, or litigant—is not required. The top court had earlier refused to allow an open-court hearing for the review petitions.The new bench was constituted after Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the current Chief Justice of India (CJI), recused himself from hearing the review petitions on July 10, 2024.Significantly, Justice P.S. Narasimha is the only member of the original Constitution bench comprising five judges that delivered the verdict, as former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices S.K. Kaul, Ravindra Bhat, and Hima Kohli have retired.On October 17 last year, the Supreme Court, in its landmark judgment, declined to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages.”It is only for Parliament and state legislatures to create such institutions and grant them legal validation. The role of the legislature has been to act as a codifier of customs and, wherever necessary, intervene in furtherance of Article 14 and 15(3) to enact laws,” the apex court had said in its verdict.The Supreme Court was also unanimous in its judgment that it was beyond their purview to issue a positive direction or order to the legislature to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriage.The judges in their October 17 verdict were also unanimous in giving the go-ahead to a high-powered committee proposed by the Centre to examine the concerns of same-sex couples and propose certain corrective measures.
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