SC 5-J bench wants to know the canvas of the petitioners’s case seeking legalisation of same-sex marriage. Centre to SC – since marriage is included in concurrent list of Constitution, states must be heard to decide whether legislature or court is the forum to decide the issue.

[4/18, 11:56] sekarreporter1: SC 5-J bench wants to know the canvas of the petitioners’s case seeking legalisation of same-sex marriage. Centre to SC – since marriage is included in concurrent list of Constitution, states must be heard to decide whether legislature or court is the forum to decide the issue.
[4/18, 11:56] sekarreporter1: SG Tushar Mehta insisted SC first deciding preliminary objections. CJI DY Chandrachud said it is his court and he will decide in what manner proceedings would be conducted.
[4/18, 11:56] sekarreporter1: SG said if SC is not deciding preliminary objections first, he would take instructions on level of Centre’s participation in the proceedings.
[4/18, 11:57] sekarreporter1: Justice Sanjay K Kaul said it is Centre’s prerogative to participate or not in SC proceedings and no one is forcing it to participate. SC proceded to hear petitioners’ lead counsel M Rohatgi, who said the same-sex couples want respectibility in society by getting right to marry.
[4/18, 11:57] sekarreporter1: Rohatgi said decriminalisation of gay sex only removed fear of prosecution but to give the LGBTQ+ community respectabiulity in society, SC must interpret Special Marriage Act to allow marriage between same sex couples. “We do not seek anything else at present,” he said.