Same Sex marriage hearing Day 10: Key Takeaways

While the petitioners have sought recognition of “marriage” as a legal institution, the argument also called for the court to recognise that the recognition “cannot be an empty shell”.

A battery of senior counsels for the petitioners - senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Raju Ramachandran, KV Vishwanathan Anand Grover, Geeta Luthra, Menaka Guruswamy, Saurabh Kirpal, Karuna Nundy, Jayna Kothari and others made the argument that “marriage” should also include the larger bouquet of rights, including not just “cohabitation”, but also the “socio-legal recognition” of “marriage”.

The petitioners also argued that “India is a marriage-based culture” and that LGBT couples should be granted the same rights as any heterosexual couple, such as status of “spouse” in financial, banking and insurance issues, medial and end-of-life decisions, inheritance, succession and even adoption and surrogacy.