India’s Supreme Court has declined to legalise same-sex marriages.

The BBC says the ruling dashes the hopes of millions of LGBTQ+ people seeking marriage equality.

However, the court accepted the government’s offer to set up a panel to consider granting more legal rights and benefits to same-sex couples.

The five-judge bench had held extensive hearings in April and May 2023 and the deliberations were “livestreamed in public interest”.

The government had insisted that only parliament could discuss the socio-legal issue of marriage and argued that allowing same-sex marriage would lead to “chaos” in society.

Earlier today, the judges agreed with the government, saying that only parliament could make law and the judges could only interpret them.

Meanwhile, activists and same-sex couples said they were disappointed by the judgement and would continue their campaign.

(Photo caption: India’s Supreme Court)