36 Indian law schools students have condemned the resolution by the Bar Council of India on the heinous indifference it portrayed by requesting the Supreme Court to leave the issue of marriage equality for LGBTQIA+ community to legislative process.
The statement issued by students said that the resolution by Bar Council is ignorant, harmful, and antithetical to the Constitution and the spirit of inclusive social life…
The Students said that it is very disheartening for them to see such hateful rhetoric.
The angered students also said that the BCI demonstrates how it is in fact a mouthpiece for a very specific class of men who have the privilege to make hegemonic statements.
At present, the Constitution bench of the Apex Court is conducting a day-to-day hearing on petitions that seek legal recognition for marriages of same-sex couples, transgender persons or queer persons.
The student body added that BCI is not empowered to pass comments on sub judice matters.
The students also said that the passing of this Resolution is entirely unwarranted and a deplorable attempt by the BCI to illegitimately create influence for itself.
The students write that BCI must re-familiarize itself with the role envisioned during its establishment, look at the state of the Indian legal profession, and devote its resources to more pressing challenges
BCI’s resolution read that about 99.9 percent of people of the country are opposed to the idea of same sex marriage and thus the vast majority of the population believes that any decision by the Supreme Court in the petitioners’ favour will go against the cultural and socio-religious structure of the country.
The Students questioned why the body has not cited any authority to back this claim.
Adding to the narrative, the students said that the idea on biological parents is a colonial reading of Indian history, culture, and civilisation as there are ample evidence of queer love and marriage existing in various forms across Indian cultures since ancient times.
The students added that BCI has failed to realise that the biological faculty of procreation cannot be lorded over citizens as a prerequisite for fundamental rights in a democratic and rules-based society.
The students have expressed their solidarity with the community.