india discrimination marriage sex-discrimination
Is not recognising a marriage based on gender of one person gender-based discrimination?
<p>If a man A wants to marry B (a woman), their marriage will be recognised and certified by the authorities.
But if he wants to marry C (a man), their marriage will not not certified.</p>
<p>Is it gender-based discrimination against C and in favour of B and thus a  fundamental right violation?</p>

<p><strong>Is it gender-based discrimination against C and in favour of B and thus a constitutional right violation?</strong></p>
<p>Apparently not, according to this source <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_India" rel="nofollow noreferrer">LGBT rights in India, Wikipedia</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in 2018. [India] has ... explicitly interpreted Article 15 of the Constitution to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. <strong>But many legal protections have not been provided for, including same-sex marriage.</strong></p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Same-sex marriages are not legally recognised in India nor are same-sex couples offered limited rights such as a civil union or a domestic partnership.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, things appear to moving towards equality - albeit slowly:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 2011, a Haryana court granted legal recognition to a same-sex marriage involving two women.  After marrying, the couple began to receive threats from friends and relatives in their village. The couple eventually won family approval.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>India doesn't have a uniform civil code, so things like marriages and divorce are governed by a myriad of laws (mostly these stem from the most populous religions in India) , some of them are -</p>
<ol>
<li>Hindu: Hindu Marriage Act 1955</li>
<li>Muslim: Muslim marriage is a contract under Muslim Personal law.</li>
<li>Christian: Indian Christian Marriage Act 1872 and the Divorce Act 1869.</li>
<li>Parsi: Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act 1936.</li>
<li>Special Marriage Act 1954 applies to all persons of all religions.</li>
</ol>
<p>The Special Marriage act is elective, this is to facilitate marriages which would typically not fall under any of the religious specific laws. Most common when people from different religions want to marry each other.</p>
<p>Most of the prevalent religions in India (with the exception of Hinduism and it's derivatives) expressly forbid homosexuality and therefore their religious laws have no provisions for same sex marriage. At the time when the Special Marriage Act was legislated, sodomy was illegal (homosexual or otherwise) under Sec 377 of the IPC, so there was no assumed need to include this under the protections of that law.</p>
<p>With the recent changes and the repeal of certain sections of Sec 377, homosexuality is no longer a crime and I think with time there will be laws formed with regards to marriages or civil unions. I don't think that the laws as they stand today are discriminatory, they're just out of date. And in a system like India's the cogs of the democratic process move slowly.</p>
