Marriage Equality for LGBTQ+ Community: Constitutional Guarantees, Legislative Gaps, and Implications for Social Inclusion

Abstract

Marriage equality for LGBTQ+ persons in India raises a broader question about whether constitutional protections are matched by legislative recognition and meaningful social inclusion. In this review, the relationship between constitutional guarantees and gaps in marriage and family law and its social consequences when there is unequal recognition was examined. The method of integration was systematic integrative review, doctrinal legal analysis and thematic synthesis. Constitutional provisions, Supreme Court judgments, statutes, government documents, international reports and peer reviewed socio-legal studies were considered. The analysis revealed an evolving trend of constitutional jurisprudence in India that has increasingly reinforced equality, dignity, privacy, autonomy, gender identity and partner choice. However, current marriage and family laws and regulations remain largely gendered and heteronormative, leaving gaps in regards to marital status, inheritance, maintenance, parental recognition, reproductive rights, healthcare decision making, etc., and spousal benefits. Empirical and institutional evidence also suggested that legal recognition can impact psychological wellbeing, family legitimacy, economic security, institutional access, and perceptions of social belonging, but that marriage equality is not enough to eradicate broader stigma and discrimination. The review, therefore, revealed a gap in the constitutional-legislative-social inclusion that is characterized by the separation or unequal recognition of the family in the enjoyment of its rights. Future reform should link marriage and family-law recognition to anti-discrimination protection, welcoming administration, available services and improved population-level statistics of LGBTQ+ communities.