India’s Supreme Court refuses to legalize same-sex marriage, says it is up to Parliament

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court has refused to legalize same-sex marriages, with the chief justice of the country saying that it was up to Parliament to create such a law. The chief justice also urged the government to uphold the rights of the queer community and end discrimination against them. A five-judge bench earlier this year heard 20 petitions that sought to legalize same-sex marriage in the world’s most populous country. Legal rights for LGBTQ+ people in India have been expanding over the past decade, and most of these changes have come through the Supreme Court’s intervention. Five years ago, the top court struck down a colonial-era law that had made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison.