The Delhi high court on Wednesday said there was an anomaly and misalignment in the erstwhile Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which was decriminalised by the Supreme Court in 2018, and the rape law that protects a husband from prosecution for a non-consensual sexual act, including unnatural sex, with his wife.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it clear that it will not go into the personal laws governing marriages while deciding the pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages, and asked the lawyers to advance arguments on the Special Marriage Act.
The panel suggests the government be authorised to raise the thresholds, which trigger applicability of Corporate Social Responsibility provisions.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the plea to grant recognition to or permit registration of such marriages was "not permissible" for two reasons -- firstly, the petition was asking the court to legislate and secondly, any relief granted "would run contrary to various statutory provisions".
The results of the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are likely to play out during the winter session of Parliament beginning Wednesday.
This motley group of gay rights activists came together to change history.
The Delhi High Court Tuesday directed the Centre to respond to a plea by LGBTQ couples who are seeking live streaming of proceedings on a batch of petitions to recognise same-sex marriages under the special, Hindu and foreign marriage laws on the ground that the matter is of great national and Constitutional importance.
Petitioner Abhijit Iyer Mitra and three others have contended in the petition that marriages between same sex couples are not possible despite the Supreme Court decriminalising consensual homosexual acts.
Timeline of events relating to proceedings on the issue.
According to a United Nation Women report, most of these 34 countries were developing nations including Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Laos, Mali, Senegal, Tajikistan and Botswana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday mooted the idea of "One Nation, One Uniform" for the police, saying it is just a suggestion for consideration and he is not trying to impose it on the states.
Telecom service operator Airtel on Thursday urged the government not to charge high fees for allotting 5G spectrum, saying a faster roll out of the next-generation telecommunication network can have more benefits than collecting revenue in upfront cost. Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises which runs the country's second largest telco, said that there are a variety of applications across sectors ranging from healthcare to video interactions, which will make 5G a technology to be introduced as soon as possible. "5G is important and that's why we keep on requesting the government to make the 5G as an enabler for hundreds of things that we develop in the country, to keep the spectrum at affordable pricing, to not load the industry too much," Mittal said at the Times Network India Economic Conclave.
Dominic Xavier wonders when and if the courts will legalise same sex marriages in India.
When Human rights campaigner and LGBTQ activist Peter Tatchell shared a tweet praising Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, he got a reply from none other than American President Donald J Trump!
The Centre had left to the wisdom of the court the issue of legality of the penal provision.
After an all-party meeting in New Delhi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also said that some of these 32 bills have already been discussed by standing committees of Parliament.
'Soli steadfastly believed in Voltaire's famous dictum that he would disagree violently with anyone but defend to death that person's right to disagree with him.'
The verdict is likely to be pronounced before October 2 this year as Justice Misra would be retiring as CJI on that day.
The central government on Thursday sent a formal letter to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) agreeing to accept their pending demands and prompting the farmers' body to suspend their over a yearlong agitation.
'Such actions are forbidden in the army.'
Rediff.com gives you a lowdown on the controversial section:
Yogi Adityanath was on Thursday unanimously chosen the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party in Uttar Pradesh in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The court was informed that though the government's affidavit has been filed, it was not on record.
The much-anticipated cryptocurrency bill, however, is missing from the list, reports Shrimi Choudhary.
Former Aussie rugby star, Israel Folau likened Australia's legalising of same-sex marriage two years ago and the decriminalisation of abortion in the state of New South Wales last month to the book of Isaiah, which talks about the earth being devoured after laws have been broken and rules changed.
Timeline of events relating to proceedings on the issue.
The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the Centre to apprise it about the views on the issue of protection of interest of citizens till the colonial-era penal law on sedition is reconsidered by an appropriate forum.
The Centre Monday urged the Supreme Court not to invest time in examining the constitutional validity of the penal law on sedition, saying it has decided to re-examine and re-consider the provision which can only be done before the competent forum.
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.
Four more people belonging to the gay and lesbian community urged the Delhi high court on Thursday to declare that marriages between any two persons irrespective of their sex be solemnised under the Special Marriage Act (SMA).
The government on Wednesday clarified its stand on homosexuality before the Supreme Court, saying it is in favour of decriminalisation of gay sex and the Delhi high court verdict is acceptable to it.
As the proceedings began in the controversial case, Additional Solicitor General Mohan Jain told the bench that as per the government decision there is no legal error in the Delhi High Court verdict which had decriminalised gay sex in 2009.
The Election Commission has written to heads of recognised political parties saying that it has created a fund in which fines for contempt of court can be deposited for failing to comply with the apex court's directions.
Speaking at an Assocham event, Modi said the recent cut in corporate tax has brought rates to all-time low for businesses, adding that labour force should also be taken care of.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Wednesday said that a consensus has been reached over a revised draft proposal of the Centre on their pending demands and it will now meet on Thursday to decide the future course of the movement, even as its leaders demanded a formal communication on government letterhead.
The SC in its judgment said that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a violation of Freedom of Expression. "Sexual orientation of an individual is natural and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a violation of Freedom of Expression, Supreme Court," the court said.
This is a rare occurrence as a bill, that too a private member one, was voted out at the introduction stage itself.
Right to privacy as a fundamental right and granting 'third gender' status to transgenders were heavily relied upon by the SC while giving judgment.
And the only answer one can think of is that this is being done to preserve the image of toughness and 56 inches and all the rest of it, notes Aakar Patel.
"Day in day out there exists a misconception in the minds of people that judges stay in big bungalows, work only 10 AM to 4 PM and enjoy their holidays. Such a narrative is untrue," Chief Justice N V Ramana said on Thursday while paying glowing tributes to Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman on his superannuation after over seven years at the Supreme Court bench.
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