Facts:

• Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as IPC) criminalised carnal intercourse against the order of nature and was historically weaponised to discriminate against gender non-conforming individuals.
• In Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) 160 DLT 277, the Delhi High Court struck down Section 377 of the IPC decriminalising consensual homosexual activities between adults.
• Thereafter, in Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation (2014), 1 SCC 1, the Supreme Court overturned the decision in Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) 160 DLT 277, reinstating the criminalisation of same-sex relations under Section 377 of the IPC.
• In National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) v. Union of India AIR 2014 SC 1863, the Supreme Court recognised the rights of transgender persons as ‘third gender.’ It directed states and unions to grant legal recognition of their self-identified gender of transgender persons.
• In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) AIR 2017 SC 4161, the Supreme Court recognised the right to privacy, which includes sexual orientation, as a fundamental right under the Constitution.
• In Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India 2018 1 SCC 791, the Supreme Court declared Section 377 of the IPC as unconstitutional for criminalising consensual same-sex relations as it violated Article 14 of the Constitution by discriminating against LGBTQ+ individuals and Article 15 of the Constitution by indirectly discriminating based on sexual orientation.
• In the present case, the Petitioners sought legal recognition of same-sex marriages, arguing that denying equality in marriage violates constitutional rights, especially under Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Indian Constitution.
  
  

Main Issues and Response to Issues:

Issue 1: Whether members of the LGBTQIA+ community have a right to marriage?