Same-Sex Marriage Verdict LIVE Updates: Asia Countries where Same-Sex marriage is legal?

As of now, Taiwan and Nepal are the only Asian jurisdictions among more than 30 worldwide that permit same-sex marriage, and India’s case is being closely watched in other parts of the region. Everywhere else the approach to same sex marriage within the Asian diaspora is conflicted.

A Bloomberg article had earlier confirmed that Hong Kong doesn’t allow same-sex marriage at home but will grant dependent visas to same-sex spouses of expatriate workers, for example. Thailand is inching toward recognition for civil unions.

Other places have become more restrictive: Indonesia, which doesn’t recognize gay marriage, recently banned all extra-marital sex; Singapore’s parliament passed a law lifting a ban on sex between men but has blocked a path toward marriage equality

Same-Sex Marriage Verdict LIVE Updates: List of countries where same-sex marriages are legal

Costa Rica (2020), Northern Ireland (2019), Ecuador (2019), Taiwan (2019), Austria (2019), Australia (2017), Malta (2017), Germany (2017), Colombia (2016), United States (2015), Greenland (2015), Ireland (2015), Finland (2015), Luxembourg (2014), Scotland (2014), England and Wales (2013), Brazil (2013), France (2013), New Zealand (2013), Uruguay (2013), Denmark (2012), Argentina (2010), Portugal (2010), Iceland (2010), Sweden (2009), Norway (2008), South Africa (2006), Spain (2005), Canada (2005), Belgium (2003), The Netherlands (2000). Countries that allow same-sex marriage in some jurisdictions–Mexico (2009)

Same-Sex Marriage Verdict LIVE Updates: ‘Hope judgement is in our favour’: Kolkata gay couple ahead of SC’s ruling

As the Supreme Court is set to deliver its judgment on various petitions pertaining to marriage equality rights for the LGBTQIA community today, a gay couple from West Bengal’s Kolkata expressed their hope for a verdict in favour of their community.

“I hope that this verdict is passed in our favour. Once the law is passed people will be able to share about this easily without any hesitation,” Abhishek Ray, who tied the knot with Chaitanya Sharma last year, said while speaking to ANI on Monday.

Same-Sex Marriage Verdict LIVE Updates: What were the government’s arguments?

Centre government had opposed the petition. The Centre told the Supreme Court that any constitutional declaration made by it on pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage may not be a “correct course of action” as the court will not be able to foresee, envisage, comprehend and deal with its fallout, PTI reported. The Centre also told the Supreme Court that it had received responses from seven states on the issue of same-sex marriage and the governments of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Assam had opposed the petitioners’ contention seeking legal endorsement for such wedlock.

Same-Sex Marriage Verdict LIVE Updates: What were the arguments of the petitioners?

During the course of hearings, the petitioners said that “India is a marriage-based culture” and that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) couples should be granted the same rights as any heterosexual couples have, like the status of “spouse” in finance and insurance issues; medial, inheritance, and succession decisions, and even in adoption and surrogacy matters. The petitioners sought recognition under the Special Marriage Act, as well as the Foreigners Marriage Act, in cases where one of the partners is a foreigner. The petitioners cited provisions of the Indian Constitution, the Human Rights Declaration of the United Nations, as well as various international conventions and laws passed in several other countries giving equal rights to the LGBT community.

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), through an intervention application, also advocated for the recognition of same-sex marriage citing the impact of such marriages on children.

Same-Sex Marriage Verdict LIVE Updates: Supreme Court to pronounce verdict on validity of same-sex marriage today

The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce its verdict on the legal recognition of same-sex marriage on Tuesday. The apex court had reserved its judgment on 11 May on a batch of pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage.