On the second day of the hearing for the validity of same-sex marriage in the Indian Supreme Court, advocates stressed the need to “push society to acknowledge us as equals in all respects because the Constitution says so”. Advocates argued that marriage equality would help to remove “the next brick of exclusion” for the LGBT+ community and reduce the stigma surrounding them. Senior advocates also argued that the core value of equality is threatened not only by the state, but also by non-state actors. The hearing comes after the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 2018, in a landmark case known as Navtej Johar v. the Union of India. Meanwhile, the Centre has sought views of states on the issue, stating that an assessment of state rules and customs of different sections of society is required.
