According to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, an Individual’s Right to Adopt is Not Related to their Marital Status

New Delhi : On the 9^th day of the marriage equality case hearing, the Supreme Court Constitutional Bench consisting of Justices Hima Kohli, S. K. Kaul, P.S. Narasimha, S. R. Bhatt and headed by the Chief Justice of India Justice D.Y. Chandrachud continued to hear a batch of 20  petitions where the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)  told the Apex Court that “there is no legal recognition of same-sex marriage and only heterosexual marriages provide stability for children”. She went a step ahead and remarked that it had been cited in various judgements that adopting a child is not a fundamental right.

Her statement received immense backlash from the online community on Twitter and Facebook, where she was criticised for her “extremely rigid and narrow-minded” view.

At the top Court, CJI Chandrachud replied, “Even a single individual can adopt a child. He or she may be in a single-sex relationship. You can adopt even if you are capable of biological birth. There is no compulsion of having biological birth”.

Later, representing the ‘Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind’, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said “It is a very dangerous route to take” and since the petitioners believe that the Parliament would not legalize same-sex marriage, the SC should issue a formal constitutional declaration forcing the government to make a law for the same.

Lastly, the Solicitor General of India (SGI) Tushar Mehta submitted to the Court that they had written letters to 7 states in totality, namely Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra, Assam, Sikkim and Rajasthan. Out of these, only Rajasthan opposed the legalisation whereas the other states responded by saying “this needs an intense and expansive debate and we will not be able to respond immediately”.

Ruchi Bhattar

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