The Supreme Court was notified on Wednesday that the Centre had consented to constitute a panel under the direction of the Cabinet Secretary to examine administrative measures for resolving the concerns of same-sex couples.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, which is considering a number of petitions seeking the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, that “the government is positive. We have agreed that coordination between several ministries is necessary to address these concerns (concerning same-sex couples). Therefore, a committee will be established under the leadership of no less than the cabinet secretary.
The petitioners can submit their ideas or difficulties, he continued, and “the committee will go into and try and see that they are addressed so far as legally permissible.”
For the petitioners, senior attorney Abhishek Singhvi said, “This is, at best, administrative fiddling. Legal tinkering is a another matter. “Anything that is given by administrative tweaking is definitely welcome,” he continued. But it might not be a suitable replacement (for a legal remedy).
The Centre has requested that the Supreme Court refer the matter to Parliament during the hearing. According to SG Mehta, the legislation cannot be changed once more to permit marriages between same sex.
