‘Hindu Bride’ Also Includes Transwomen, Rules Madras High Court To Facilitate Transgender Marriages

Ever since the Supreme Court of India decriminalized homosexuality by ruling out the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, the country has come a long way in providing justice to the LGBTQ community.

While we have seen pride parades take over several cities, the Kerala High Court, in September 2018, declared that lesbian couples can live together.

Come 2019, we have another historic decision in favor of the LGBTQ community. The Madras High Court on Monday announced that the term ‘bride’ as per the Hindu Marriage Act, would also include a transsexual and not just someone born as a ‘woman’.

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The decision was ruled by Justice GR Swaminathan, who quoted from the Supreme Court judgments and epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and said that the expression ‘bride’ in the Hindu Marriage Act could not have a static or immutable meaning.

Along with the ruling, he ordered the authorities to register a marriage between Arun Kumar and Sreeja, who happens to be a transwoman. The couple had no other way but to seek the help of the court after the registration department refused to register their marriage and issue them a certificate.

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They got married at a temple in Tuticorin on October 31.

The government’s argument that the marriage registrar has the power to refuse registration as the couple failed to meet the statutory requirement of Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, as the term ‘bride’ can only refer to a ‘woman on her wedding day’, was also put down by Justice Swaminathan.

According to TOI, the court has also asked the state government to issue an order to put a ban on sex-reassignment surgeries on inter-sex infants and children. He also added that an intersex child is entitled to stay with the family. Speaking on the same, Swaminathan said,

“Any intersex child is entitled to stay within the folds of its family. The running away to the margins and beyond is a fatal journey that must be arrested. Time has come when they are brought back from margins to the mainstream.”

According to justice, the government should also launch awareness campaigns to make parents understand that the birth of an intersex child is not something to be ashamed of.

The decision comes as a major step towards progress for the country as we firmly believe that love comes in all shapes and sizes. We hope for the other states to follow suit and wish to hear similar rulings like this in the future.

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