Bevan Avil Pinto, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad
ABSTRACT
One of the most widely spoken topics globally is that of the LGBT community. The voice of the LGBT community has been widely spread in current times, with several million protesting in favor of same-sex couples and transgender people. Similarly, in India, LGBT is not far behind, with countless people fighting to support LGBT rights every day. Since 2018, same-sex relations have been officially decriminalized, thus a victory for the LGBT community. However, the fight for equal rights is far from over. Although same-sex relations have been decriminalized, there are limited family rights for members of the LGBT community. From marriage rights to adoption rights, same-sex couples do not have equal rights as that heterosexual couples. This paper attempts first to understand the past decade and its significance to the LGBT community in India, wherein the decriminalization of section 377 had taken place. Further, the paper will examine the existing laws in India and the recent judicial judgments to understand the current family rights available to same-sex couples in India. Further, the paper will explore the avenue of adoption and surrogacy for same-sex couples. Throughout this paper, same-sex couples' family rights will be examined in length while attempting to point out solutions to several of the issues faced by same-sex couples in India.
Keywords: Same-sex Couples, LGBT, Section 377, Family Rights
