Gay groups in India wrestle with court's 'landmark failure' on marriage equality
rfi.frOnir labelled the verdict a “landmark failure”, but Canada-funded Humsafar Trust gay rights group said the ruling did have positive points for the community."It would endorse the fact that we exist and that we can contribute something meaningful to the society," said Gopalan of the order upholding rights of gay couples to “cohabit without threat of violence, coercion or interference.”Same sex couple Rahul and Shiv said they were “heartbroken”.“We have no expectations from parliament because we know what they are going to do to us,” added Rahul, a school teacher who like many Indians, uses one name.The ruling came after the judges wrote and re-wrote the verdict four times after hearing 21 petitions on gender ideology since April.“This court can't make laws but can enforce laws," the ruling said, putting the ball into parliament’s court.Chief justice Chandrachud said: “The court must steer clear of matters particularly those impinging on policy, which falls in the legislative domain.” A day after the judgment, Delhi lawyer Utkarsh Saxena exchanged rings with male partner, Ananya Kotia, a student at London School of Economics, on the court’s lawns in national capital, one of Asia’s popular hubs of gay activism.India estimates a gay headcount of 2.5 million but other calculations put the number at 135 million—or 10 percent of the national population.Supreme Court lawyer Karuna Nandi argued the verdict placed the onus of safety of the gay community on India’s 28 provincial authorities.“Rights of queer citizens must be protected and state governments can protect them," she said after the live-streamed trial ended.India's government, which labels same-sex unions as “urban elitist views”, had asked the court to dismiss the petitions on grounds that a heterosexual male can only marry heterosexual woman, but senior advocate KV Vishwanathan tore into the argument.“Is procreation a valid defence from keeping us from effects of marriage?
