The betrayal of a social revolution

It has been more than a year since the Supreme Court announced its verdict in Supriyo Chakraborty vs Union of India, crushing the hopes of people who thought that the decriminalisation of homosexuality would be followed by legal recognition for same-sex marriages.

- CHINTAN GIRISH MODI

The outpouring of grief and rage in response to the apex court's refusal to recognise their right to marry have found a home in lawyer Rohin Bhatt's book The Urban Elite v. Union of India.

The author was part of a legal team led by senior advocate Anand Grover and also drafted two of numerous petitions from across the country that came up in court during the landmark marriage equality hearings.

One of these petitions had Sameer Samudra and his partner Amit Gokhale seeking recognition of marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The other petition had an interfaith couple—Nitin Karani and Thomas Joseph—seeking recognition of their marriage under the Special Marriage Act.

What Bhatt brings to the table, however, is not legal expertise alone.

He writes from the vantage point of being a "queer, non-binary lawyer" in the courtroom whose own future as a citizen was tied up with the impending judgment.

The book's title seems to be a snarky reference to the Government of India's flawed argument that the demand for marriage equality was rooted in "urban elitist views".

The author does a fine job of capturing the heated debates that took place in court in 2023 before a Constitution Bench consisting of five judges ruled unanimously that the power to legalise same-sex marriages rests with Parliament, not the court.