‘6 years since decriminalisation of same-sex relationships, daily challenges persist for LGBTQIA+ community,’ Pune foundation writes to Ministry of Social Justice

“On October 17, 2023, a Constitution Bench of five Supreme Court judges, declined to grant same-sex couples the right to marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, which means that same-sex partners who are living in same-sex relationships continue to be regarded as second-class citizens,” Khire said in the letter.

The letter has also been sent to cabinet secretary T V Somanathan who is the president of the Committee that has been appointed this year to study issues affecting persons in same-sex relationships.

Listing the challenges, Khire pointed out that a same-sex partner cannot be nominated under the Gratuity Act. “The same-sex partner is not considered a family and hence cannot claim gratuity. (Whereas if it were a married heterosexual couple, the man or the woman can nominate their spouse to claim gratuity),” he said.

“Most medical insurance companies do not allow for a same-sex partner to be listed as a dependent. So, if the partner does not have medical insurance and is to be hospitalised, the expenses will not be taken care off through his partner’s insurance,” Khire added.

When contacted, Nitin Karani, 53, a Mumbai-based LGBTQIA+ activist who was among the original petitioners in the same-sex marriage case in the Supreme Court, said, “whatever the government has announced so far, is only because the Chief Justice of India in their verdict last October asked them to do.”

“Although unsurprising, it is a shame that this government is unwilling to fulfill the Constitution’s promise of equality. While the measures announced may be essential, not only they don’t go far enough to achieve the goal of treating all people equally, but I would also caution that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So, the quality and time frame of execution need monitoring,” he told The Indian Express.