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Rediff.com  » News » Lawyer couple who fought against Sec 377 now wants to legalise gay weddings

Lawyer couple who fought against Sec 377 now wants to legalise gay weddings

Last updated on: July 01, 2020 14:20 IST
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After successfully fighting for the decriminalisation of Section 377, lawyers Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy have now decided to fight for legalisation of gay marriage in India, through The Marriage Project.

IMAGE: Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju were named by TIME magazine in its prestigious list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The two lawyers came out as a couple after their battle against Section 377 bore fruit and the Supreme Court struck it down. Photograph: Noam Galai/Getty Images for TIME

The lawyers behind that fight to secure LGBTQ dignity have now decided to go a step ahead and fight for the legalisation of Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender marriages in India.

 

“We are not a country that recognises girlfriend or boyfriend or dating. We are a country that sanctifies one kind of relationship and that is marriage,” Guruswamy was quoted as saying by Business Insider.

Guruswamy along with her partner Arundhati Katju, is actively backing a legal framework, “Marriage Project”, that aims to make same-gender marriages constitutionally legitimate.

Guruswamy says that gay or straight, Hindu or Muslim, upper caste or lower caste, male or female, all desire the same thing: a lasting long-term relationship ‘recognised by the society and law’.

As for “Marriage Project”, a Kerala-based same gender couple, Sonu and Nikesh Pushkaran have already filed a petition in Kerala high court to seek legal recognition of their marriage.

While same-sex marriages are not legally allowed, couples can opt for a Civil Union under the Special Marriages Act 1954.

As of now, 28 countries across the world have legalised same-sex marriages and several Western democraies accept civil unions between same sex couples.

On May 27, Costa Rica became the latest country to legalise same gender marriages.

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