India's Top Court Opens Landmark Hearings on Same-sex Marriage | DW News

Apr 18, 2023 | In India, homosexuality is legally permitted, but same-sex unions have not been recognized yet. That could change soon: Beginning April 18, India's Supreme Court will start hearing final arguments to determine whether same-sex marriages should be legalized. Gay couples in the country currently face hurdles when it comes to adoption, inheritance and alimony, among other issues. The disparities of treatment between heterosexual and homosexual couples is also noticeable at many levels. For example, Kanav Sahgal, a writer on LGBTQ issues who works for the think tank Vidhi Center for Legal Policy, explains that hospitals usually require a patient undergoing a procedure to fill in the name of their spouse, mother, father or another person. Currently, he says, gay persons can only fill in their partner's names under "other."