Same-Sex Marriage After Supriyo: Rights, Statutory Recognition and the Court’s Limits

In Supriyo @ Supriya Chakraborty v. Union of India, 2023 INSC 920, a five-judge Constitution Bench considered whether the Special Marriage Act, 1954 could be interpreted to recognise marriages between persons of the same sex. The Court did not create such recognition, while reaffirming that queer persons possess equal constitutional dignity and freedom to form relationships.

What the petitioners sought

The petitioners challenged the exclusion of same-sex couples from the legal institution of marriage and requested a gender-neutral interpretation of the Special Marriage Act. Recognition matters because marriage is connected to numerous statutory consequences involving succession, maintenance, taxation, adoption, pensions and medical decision-making.

The Court had to distinguish constitutional protection of individual choice from judicial alteration of an interconnected statutory scheme.

The binding outcome

The judges agreed that there is no fundamental right to marry expressly guaranteed by the Constitution. The Court declined to strike down the Special Marriage Act or read it as a gender-neutral marriage code. Changing terms throughout the Act would affect provisions designed around a heterosexual framework and would produce consequences across other legislation. The majority concluded that such institutional redesign belongs to the legislature.

The decision did not hold that queer relationships are unlawful or constitutionally inferior. Queer persons retain rights to dignity, privacy, autonomy, choice of partner and protection against violence or coercion. Public authorities must not discriminate merely because of sexual orientation, subject to the legal issue and applicable constitutional test.

Civil unions and adoption

The opinions differed on whether the Court could recognise an enforceable right to a civil union and direct the State to provide its legal incidents. The majority declined to create that status through adjudication. Because the opinions did not produce a binding direction establishing civil unions, such relationships do not presently receive a general marriage-equivalent statutory status from this judgment.

The Court also did not invalidate the adoption regulations so as to create a general entitlement for unmarried queer couples to adopt jointly. Individual adoption rights and eligibility must be assessed under the Juvenile Justice Act, the Adoption Regulations and other applicable law, rather than assumed from relationship status alone.

Protection from family and State interference

The absence of marriage recognition does not authorise harassment. Adults are entitled to choose partners and cohabit without violence or unlawful interference. Police and administrative authorities must respond lawfully to genuine requests for protection and cannot force adults to return to families solely because relatives disapprove of the relationship.

Current legal position

The judgment leaves legislative choices open. Parliament and State Legislatures, acting within their respective fields, may address marriage, civil unions or specific benefits. Until such law is enacted or the position changes through binding judicial action, practitioners must distinguish constitutional protection of the relationship from statutory marital status.

Conclusion

Supriyo protects queer identity and relational autonomy but stops short of judicially creating same-sex marriage or civil unions. Its central institutional holding is that a network of marital rights and duties requires legislative action, while constitutional dignity remains enforceable.

Sources

Supreme Court of India, Supriyo @ Supriya Chakraborty v. Union of India, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1011 of 2022, 2023 INSC 920, judgment dated 17 October 2023: https://api.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2022/36593/36593_2022_1_1501_47792_Judgement_17-Oct-2023.pdf

Special Marriage Act, 1954: https://www.indiacode.nic.in/indiacode/handle/123456789/1387?view_type=browse

Constitution of India, Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21: https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india/

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