After the Supreme Court declined to legalize same-sex marriage in India, the United States encouraged the country to work towards offering equal legal protection to same-sex couples and said that it was “closely monitoring follow-up steps” from the Centre.
Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to legalize same-sex marriage and left it to Parliament to decide, agreeing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government that the legislature is the right forum to rule on the issue.
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“The United States supports marriage equality globally,” a US State Department spokesperson said on Thursday. “We are closely monitoring follow-up steps from the government and reactions from civil society on this issue following the court’s ruling,” the spokesperson said, Reuters reported.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government had opposed the petitions in the court, saying same-sex marriage is not “comparable with the Indian family unit concept of a husband, a wife and children.”
“We will continue to voice our support for marriage equality and protections for LGBTQI+ persons against discrimination and encourage the Indian government to take the necessary steps to offer equal legal protection to same-sex couples,” the State Department spokesperson said.
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Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said on Tuesday the Supreme Court “cannot make law. It can only interpret it and give effect to it.”
The US State Department said it regularly engages with the Indian government on human rights concerns, including LGBT rights, Reuters reported.