The Delhi High Court on Wednesday transferred to another bench and adjourned to November 19 a plea seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act.

A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan transferred the matter to another bench, which is hearing similar pleas related to the legal recognition of same-sex marriage and listed it for hearing on November 19.

The court was hearing a public suit seeking a declaration to the effect that since Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act of 1956 does not distinguish between homosexual and heterosexual couples, the right of same-sex couples to marry should be recognised under the said Act.

The public interest litigation (PIL), filed by advocates Raghav Awasthi and Mukesh Sharma, said that the petitioners have filed the petition for enforcement of their Fundamental Rights as granted under the Constitution of India.

The petition said that as of now, the law sees the members of the LGBT community as individuals only and not as couples. It also said that the LGBT community members are forced to suppress their feelings of getting married to the person of their own choice. Read more via Indian Express