Supreme Court agrees to consider review petitions on same-sex marriage verdict

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to consider on November 28 a bundle of petition seeking a reconsideration of its October 17 judgment that had refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex couples and said only Parliament and state legislatures can validate their marital unions.

Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the matter before Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, requesting the CJI to ensure that the review petition comes up for consideration before five judges on November 28 – the tentative date assigned by the court registry.

Several other lawyers, who had earlier appeared in the matter, were also in attendance when Rohatgi made the request.

“We have also sought an open court hearing. It is tentatively listed on November 28. Let it not be deleted. Apart from this, majority or minority, both views have held that there is a discrimination (against LGBTQ+ couples). If there is discrimination, there also has to be a remedy. This is why we have pressed for an open court hearing,” Rohatgi submitted.

Responding, the CJI said that he was still to go through the review petitions and that the lawyers’ plea for an open court hearing would be considered appropriately.

A review petition comes up before the same composition of judges through circulation in their chambers and is mostly decided without an open court hearing. However, if the judges find some merit in the review plea, they can allow an open court hearing and oral arguments.

Of the five judges on the same-sex marriage bench, justice S Ravindra Bhat retired on October 20, which means the CJI will have to add a new judge to the bench for considering the review petitions. It is for the CJI, as the master of the roster, to assign a date for considering the review plea inside judges’ chambers.