Plea seeking review of order concerning homosexuals’ civil rights filed in Supreme Court

A plea seeking review of an order dismissing civil rights such as same-sex marriage, adoption and surrogacy for the LGBTQ community has been filed in the Supreme Court.

On October 29, 2018, the apex courthad dismissed a plea filed by Tushar Nayyar seeking reliefs including grant of civil rights to the members of the LGBTQ--lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer--community in addition to seeking decriminalization of consensual gay sex.

The apex court had said, “We are not inclined to entertain this petition after the decision of this Court in the Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India decided on Sept. 6, 2018.”

The plea sought review of the order and said that it was not just limited to decriminalization of consensual gay sex. It was also concerned with denial of adoption and surrogacy rights to LGBTQ members and non-recognition of same-sex marriages under the Special Marriages Act, 1954.

The plea said, “Other instances of indirect discrimination are not addressed in the Navtej Singh Johar case. People in the military are not allowed to serve openly. Heterosexual people end up marrying LGBT people and end up consummating marriage with them, which harms heterosexual people the most. Lesbian women have it the worst.”