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Dr Kavita Arora and Ankita Khanna are amongst the many couples who filed a petition to legalise same-sex marriage in India, but the Supreme Court had something else in store. Read on to know more about the fight of this couple.
Same-Sex Marriage in India: The much-awaited verdict on the same-sex marriage petition has been made. A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, who was heading the bench pronouncing its verdict on 21 pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages, said the court can’t make law but only interpret it and it is for Parliament to change the Special Marriage Act.
There were around 20 petitioners who filed their case in a bid to legalise same-sex marriage. Dr Kavita Arora and Ankita Khanna are one of the couples who have filed the petition to legalise same-sex marriage in India. They have been living together for nearly 10 years now and have never ceased to fight for their rights.
MEET DR KAVITA ARORA AND ANKITA KHANNA
Dr Kavita and Ankita have shared a beautiful relationship of over a decade now. The couple bonded over the magic of Harry Potter and fiction but agree to have contrasting personalities. However, the complement each other and that’s what makes them stronger. Kavita is a psychiatrist and Ankita is a psychologist and both of them work at Kavita’s clinic.
With @arorakavita 🌈 pic.twitter.com/h6paWAkeXw
— Ankita Khanna (@ankitakhanna) October 16, 2023
Kavita was born and brought up in Delhi, while Ankita ascribes herself ‘a child of the mountains.’ She hails from the valleys of Uttarakhand but both of them met at their workplace. Apart from the choice of work, both of them enjoy travelling to different countries together and finding novel things to bond and love all over again.
Coming out to family and friends is not easy, there is a fear of judgement, acceptance and a lot of other things. But for Ankita, things aligned in her favour. In an interview with journalist Faye DSouza, Ankita said,” When I was coming out to my parents, they asked me if this is what makes me happy, when I said yes, they said then nothing else matters. I cannot tell you what that meant to me.”
The power couple has always been voicing for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. While they have been living together for long, life has not been all sweet and rosy. Having a supportive environment is a cardinal in pursuance of such battles but it still remains a path riddled with obstacles. Living as a couple and living as a ‘legal’ couple means two different things in India.
Without the legalisation of marriage, couples face several issues at the administrative level. Due to the lack of a ‘legally wedded’ tag, couples lose out on several benefits. Elaborating on the ‘why’ is this important for the LGBTQIA+ community, Kavita said, “For finances, medical decisions, etc the concept of the couple wasn’t there for us. I would want her to take my decisions for me. We wanted a solve for this,” speaking to journalist Faye DSouza.
The battle is a long one, and patience, endurance and persistence is the key. In an old X (Formerly Twitter) post, Ankita shared:
To the two who, when we met in 2020, made us believe that even as ‘ordinary’ queer citizens, our struggles and stories mattered. No matter what the verdict brings, in the business of ‘life’- we will always stand up for one another 🌈@arorakavita @MenakaGuruswamy @arundhatikatju pic.twitter.com/emoQt0xgDA
— Ankita Khanna (@ankitakhanna) May 11, 2023
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE VERDICT – 5 POINTS
- The CJI, concluded that the court can neither strike down or read words into the Special Marriage Act to include same-sex members within the ambit of the 1954 law.
- It is up to the Parliament and State legislature to enact laws on marriage. He holds that queer persons have an equal right and freedom to enter into a “union”.
- He said the failure of the state to recognise the bouquet of entitlements which flow from a union will result in an disparate impact on queer couples, who cannot marry under the current legal regime.
- Directing the Centre, states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure the queer community is not discriminated against, the CJI said queer is a natural phenomenon known for ages and is neither urban nor elitist.
- Justice Kaul said he agrees with the CJI on grant of certain rights to queer couples. “Non-heterosexual and heterosexual unions must be seen as both sides of same coin,” he said, adding that legal recognition of non-heterosexual unions is step towards marriage equality.
The verdict probably has confused a lot of people bu the bottom line is that this battle to justice is still a long haul.
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