Demand for live broadcast of hearing of petitions for approval of same-sex marriage

Delhi High Court seeks reply from Center

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed the Center to respond to a petition filed by a same-sex couple seeking to broadcast live the hearing of petitions filed for recognition of same-sex marriage under special, Hindu and foreign marriage laws.

The petition claims that the case has national and constitutional significance. The High Court has also issued notices on three other petitions seeking same-sex couples seeking recognition of their marriage. At the same time, the total number of such applications has increased to eight.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh directed the Centre's counsel to take cognizance of the matter and file reply to the other three petitions and the live broadcast petition.

The bench has fixed February 3 for further hearing of the case. The court was hearing petitions from several same-sex couples. In which he has demanded recognition of his marriage as special, Hindu and foreign marriage.

One of the two petitions was filed by two same-sex women who got married in Varanasi in February, 2018 and are now seeking recognition of the marriage.

The second application was made by a transgender man who had undergone sex reassignment surgery and had joined a civil union with her husband in South Africa and sought legal recognition of the marriage. The demand for live broadcast has been made in the late application of Abhijeet Iyer Mitra.