In India’s Landmark Same-Sex Marriage Case, Arguments Span Equality, Family, Religion

NEW DELHI—In landmark hearings before India’s Supreme Court, a series of petitioners are arguing for the expansion of marriage rights to millions of LGBTQ people in the world’s most populous nation, but are facing opposition from the country’s socially conservative government.

The closely watched proceedings, which began mid-April, come five years after the court decriminalized gay sex. Its other rulings over the past decade have brought rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people to the forefront, including one in 2014 that recognized transgender people as a third gender. In 2017, the court said privacy, including a person’s sexual orientation, is a constitutional right for all.