Bar Council of India turns ventriloquist for ‘common men’, opposes marriage equality

The Bar Council of India's resolution unanimously opines that any decision by the Supreme Court in the batch of petitions on recognition of marriage equality may prove harmful to future generation as "99.9 percent of the people" in India are opposed to it.

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YESTERDAY, the Bar Council of India (BCI), headed by its Chairman, Senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, in a joint meeting of all state Bar councils, passed a resolution opposing the hearing of a batch of petitions on the recognition of marriage equality.

The resolution remarks that the matter has caused "great anxiety and serious concern for the Bar" as the recognition of marriage equality is "socially and morally" against the traditional union between a biological man and a biological woman, which has the "twin purpose of procreation and recreation".

According to the BCI's statement, "99.9 percent of the people … are opposed to the idea of same-sex marriage" in our country, and the vast majority believes that any decision of the Supreme Court in favour of recognising marriage equality "will … be against the culture and socio-religious structure of the country".

The statement further reads, "Every responsible and prudent citizen of the country is worried about the future of his or her children after coming to know about the pendency of the matter before the Supreme Court."

The Supreme Court Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dr D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices S.K Kaul, S. Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and P.S. Narasimha is currently hearing around 20 petitions in Supriyo@Supriya Chakraborty versus Union of India & Ors, on the limited issue of whether the Special Marriage Act, 1954 can accommodate gender-neutral situations.

As per the BCI's statement, one of the issues discussed at the joint meeting was "relating to the serious disadvantages of the concept of same-sex marriage and to make aware the Supreme Court with the opinion of the Bar of the country."

The BCI's resolution states that the marriage equality matter is likely to "tinker with the fundamental social structure" of India, as the country is one of the world's most "socio-religiously diverse countries". The resolution unanimously opines that the current matter has a far-reaching impact on India's socio-cultural and religious beliefs, and should necessarily be dealt with by the legislative process.

Calling the Bar the "mouthpiece of the common men", the BCI's statement noted, "There is no gainsaying that the issue at hand is highly sensitive, commented upon and criticised by various sections of the society, including socio-religious groups, for being a social experiment, engineered by a selected (sic) few."

It also averred that the court is requested and expected to appreciate and respect the sentiments and mandate of the masses.

Previously, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) opposed the petitions for the recognition of marriage equality on the ground of adoption of children by same-sex couples. The NCPCR stated that adoption by same-sex couples is "akin to endangering children" as their upbringing would be devoid of a healthy "socio-cultural" environment, which is not possible in same-sex couples.

In stark contrast, the Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights has supported adoption by same-sex couples, stating that no empirical data exists to suggest that homosexual couples are unfit to raise a child.

Pertinently, during the first day of the hearing of the petitions, the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta mentioned before the court that there is a clear legislative omission on the part of the Parliament to not include the right of marriage equality in the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights Act), 2019. Moreover, he submitted that the legislative intent throughout the Special Marriage Act is to only recognise a union between a biological man and a biological woman.

The Union government's affidavit on written preliminary submission states that marriage is a right only for heterosexual unions.

Click here to view the BCI's press release.