In this episode, Ninni Susan Thomas speaks to Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran, a former Additional Solicitor General and who has been involved in influential cases related to constitutional law at the Supreme Court for more than 3 decades. Some nuances about the Marriage Equality Case which was heard by the Supreme Court where the legal recognition of same-sex marriages in India was sought for and he represented one of the petitioners were discussed. Other topics of discussion included whether the Supreme Court was the right forum for this adjudication, the impact of the judgement on other constitutional and discrimination cases, the Supreme Court choosing not to decide on the notice provisions in the Special Marriage Act and his thoughts on the Supreme Court having asked for a decision on the issue to be made by a Committee to be constituted by the Union Government.

References:

1. Supriyo & Anr. v. Union of India, judgement in the Marriage Equality Case: https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2022/36593/36593_2022_1_1501_47792_Judgement_17-Oct-2023.pdf
2. Round-up of the hearings and constitutional issues: https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2023/11/22/the-supreme-courts-marriage-equality-judgment-round-up/
3. Delinking personal laws: https://www.scobserver.in/journal/adjudicating-marriage-equality-an-opportunity-lost-or-a-bullet-dodged/
4. Effect on fundamental rights: https://www.scobserver.in/journal/marriage-equality-judgement-overlooking-fundamental-rights-justice-bhat-on-marriage-equality/#:~:text=There%20were%20four%20opinions%20among,of%20LGBTQIA%2B%20persons%20to%20marry.
5. Effect on the queer community: https://repository.nls.ac.in/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context=popular-media
6. Court not dealing with the notice provisions in Special Marriage Act: https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/same-sex-marriage-supreme-court-special-marriage-act-provisions-notice-objections-228449

CREDITS:Host: Ninni Susan Thomas

This is a Maed in India production.

Producer: Sean D’mello

Sound Design & Mixing: Lakshman Parsuram

Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome