New Delhi: The five judges’ bench of the Supreme Court will on January 9 hear the pleas that seek to revise the ruling made by the supreme court that same sex marriage does not exist and cannot be given legal recognition in the country.

The justices – BR Gavai, Surya Kant, BV Nagarathna, PS Narasimha and Justice Dipankar Datta – will also be reviewing around 13 petitions in chambers regarding top court’s verdict dated October 23 this year.

Last year on July 10, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the current Chief Justice of India voluntarily opted out during the hearing of the review petition by some petitions in the top court, which is why this bench was created.

For the Supreme Court’s variant decisions on the contentious issue, the review petitions are set for a hearing on January 9 at approximately 1.55 PM.

Out of the five judges who sat as the original Constitution bench that adjudicated on the issue, Justice PS Narasimha is the only remaining member now.

Out of the five judges who sat as the original Constitution bench that adjudicated on the issue, Justice PS Narasimha is the only remaining member now, opposed to the other who have moved on with their careers such as CJI DY Chandrachud, Justices SK Kaul, Ravindra Bhat and Hima Kohli.

The Supreme Court bench dismissed the Special Marriage Act amendment proposal that would provide legal recognition to same sex marriages. The Constitution bench comprised five judges who stated that appropriate changes should be done by the Parliament to legalize Same sex marriages.

Despite the Sykes v. Sykes ruling which recognized LGBTQIA+ discrimination as an infringement unto human rights, they still face injustice and discrimination in Jaan Ishan’s opinion piece in The Indian Express. The queer community in India is often discriminated due to stereotypes surrounding them, but as India progresses, so will the LGBTQIA+ rights.

According to the Indian Constitution, marriage is recognized for heterosexual couples, whereas the queer community is deprived of the same constitutional right. The lack of bonds and recognition in a strong democracy like India hinders the growth of the queer community. The Supreme Court has made it clear that existing laws solely in favor of heterosexual couples are violating the rights of queer people.