Is Same-Sex Marriage Legal in India? What Couples Can Do in 2026

Couples planning a wedding ask this question first, and the answer shapes everything that follows: whether a ceremony in India has legal effect, what paperwork to prepare, and whether to register a marriage abroad. This guide sets out the current position as of 2026, what the Supreme Court actually decided, what has changed since, and the practical steps couples take to protect each other.

Note: this is general information for 2026, not legal advice. It summarises court judgments and government advisories in plain language. For anything affecting property, inheritance, medical decisions, tax or immigration, consult a lawyer about your situation.

The short answer, point by point

What the Supreme Court decided in Supriyo

The case was heard by a five-judge Constitution Bench: Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices S.K. Kaul, S. Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and P.S. Narasimha. The judgment was delivered on 17 October 2023.

Where the judges agreed. All five held that there is no fundamental right to marry under the Constitution, so the Court could not create a right to same-sex marriage, and that changing the marriage laws is a matter for Parliament. They declined to strike down or reinterpret the Special Marriage Act, 1954 to include same-sex couples. They also agreed that transgender persons in heterosexual relationships can marry under the existing laws.

Where they split, three to two. The minority, the Chief Justice and Justice Kaul, would have recognised a right of queer couples to enter a civil union and would have allowed joint adoption. The majority, Justices Bhat, Kohli and Narasimha, did not accept either. So there is no legally recognised civil union in India, and joint adoption by a same-sex couple is not available.

What came next. The government told the Court it would set up a committee to examine the practical entitlements of queer couples. In April 2024 it constituted a committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. On 9 January 2025 a bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions seeking a review of the 2023 judgment, finding no error apparent on the record. The route to legal marriage now runs through Parliament.

What has changed in practice since 2023

The clearest change concerns banking. On 21 August 2024 the Reserve Bank of India clarified to commercial banks that there is no restriction on persons of the queer community opening a joint account or naming a person in a queer relationship as the nominee to receive the balance. The Ministry of Finance issued an advisory to the same effect on 28 August 2024. In practice a couple can now hold a joint account and name each other as nominee, and a branch that refuses can be shown the advisory.

Other entitlements, such as family pensions, ration cards and some medical decisions, are among the issues the Cabinet Secretary’s committee was set up to examine. Do not assume a change until a department issues a notification or advisory of its own.

How couples protect each other without a marriage certificate

Marriage gives spouses a bundle of rights automatically. Without it, couples rebuild the most important of those rights one document at a time. None of these documents is a marriage, and each has limits, so take advice before relying on any of them.

The order that works for most couples is to open the joint account and update nominations first, since those are quick, then make wills, then deal with property and medical documents. Do this before the wedding rather than after. It is less romantic than choosing a venue and far more important.

Marriages registered abroad

An Indian same-sex couple can legally marry in a country that allows it, and many do. The marriage is valid in that country and in others that recognise it. It is not recognised as a marriage in India, and the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969, which lets Indian citizens marry abroad before an Indian diplomatic officer, does not provide for same-sex couples. So a couple married abroad should still make the Indian documents described above if they have money, property or family in India.

Do not assume that a foreign marriage certificate will be accepted by Indian authorities for immigration purposes, such as a spouse-based visa or an overseas citizenship application. Take immigration advice specific to your passports. Our guide to marrying abroad as an Indian same-sex couple compares the countries couples use and the documents each asks for.

Transgender persons and marriage

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 provides for legal recognition of gender identity. In Supriyo the Court held unanimously that a transgender person in a heterosexual relationship can marry under the existing marriage laws, including personal laws. A trans woman marrying a man, or a trans man marrying a woman, can therefore marry and register in the usual way. A couple where both partners share a gender identity cannot. Because practice at registrars varies, carry the identity documents that reflect your gender and take advice before the date.

What this means for your wedding

• A ceremony in India is a celebration, not a registration, so there is no notice period, no registrar and no certificate. Plan it like any wedding.
• Protect each other with documents before the wedding. Our complete guide to LGBTQ+ weddings in India places this in the overall timeline.
• If legal status matters, plan a registration abroad and allow time for documents from India.
• Keep the question open. Parliament could change the law, and the position described here should be checked again before you rely on it.

For the general registration rules that apply to other couples, see our guides to the Special Marriage Act and the legal age of marriage.

Work, insurance and housing

Several everyday protections depend on private policies rather than the law, and they are worth checking before the wedding.

Keep copies of the policies and letters you rely on. Where a protection depends on a private decision, a written record is what makes it hold.

What to watch for next

The legal position is not fixed. Three developments are worth following: any report or recommendations from the Cabinet Secretary’s committee, any department issuing an advisory like the Finance Ministry’s on banking, and any bill in Parliament on marriage or partnerships. Until one of them changes the position, plan on the basis described above.

Planning the celebration

None of this prevents a wedding. Couples in India hold full celebrations with families and rituals, and many pair them with a legal marriage abroad. Our guide to planning a same-sex commitment ceremony covers officiants, rituals and running order.

The one registration a registrar can be ordered to perform

Everything above is about what the law does not yet allow. There is one situation where a
marriage involving a member of the queer community can be registered under existing law, and
where a registrar who refuses has been overruled in court. It is worth setting out properly,
because it is the practical question couples ask and almost nobody answers.

In Arunkumar v The Inspector General of Registration, decided by the Madras
High Court on 22 April 2019, a man and a transwoman married at a temple in Tuticorin and applied
to register the marriage. The Joint Registrar refused. They appealed to the District Registrar,
who upheld the refusal. The High Court quashed both orders and directed the Registrar to register
the marriage, opening with the line that a marriage solemnised between a male and a transwoman,
both professing the Hindu religion, is a valid marriage under section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act
and that the Registrar of Marriages is bound to register it. The court added that in saying so it
was not breaking new ground; it was stating the obvious.

The Supreme Court went the same way in Supriyo. It held that the gendered words used in the
marriage statutes, bride and bridegroom, wife and husband, male and female, man and woman, cannot
be read as governing marriages between cisgender men and cisgender women alone, and that
transgender persons in heterosexual relationships have the right to marry under existing law
including personal law. That part of the judgment was not the split part. It was common ground.

The documents that make it work at the counter

The right exists. Making it uneventful at the office is a paperwork problem, and the
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 is what solves it.

Name and gender mismatches across documents are the most common reason any marriage application
stalls, for any couple. Fix them before the appointment rather than at it, and carry the
certificate of identity with the rest of the file.

If the registrar refuses anyway

Arunkumar is useful precisely because it is a map of what to do when the counter says no.

1. Ask for the refusal in writing. The refusal in that case was a written order, which is what made it challengeable. A verbal refusal gives you nothing to appeal.
2. Use the statutory appeal. The couple appealed to the District Registrar first. Most state registration rules provide an appeal, and going through it matters.
3. The High Court is the remedy. When the appeal failed, a writ petition under Article 226 succeeded, and the court ordered registration rather than sending the matter back.
4. Get advice before the appointment, not after. If you expect difficulty, speak to a lawyer who has done this, and take the judgment with you.

None of this makes same-sex marriage registrable in India, and this page should not be read as
suggesting otherwise. It describes a narrower and real route: where one partner is a transgender
person in a heterosexual relationship, the marriage is registrable under existing law, a refusal
is challengeable, and the Supreme Court has said so unanimously.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is same-sex marriage legal in India in 2026?

No. The Supreme Court declined to recognise same-sex marriage in Supriyo v Union of India on 17 October 2023, holding that it is a matter for Parliament, and dismissed the review petitions on 9 January 2025. Same-sex relationships themselves have been lawful since 2018.

Is a civil union or registered partnership available in India?

No. Two of the five judges in Supriyo would have recognised a right to a civil union, but the majority did not, so there is no legally recognised civil union or registered partnership for same-sex couples in India.

Can a same-sex couple open a joint bank account in India?

Yes. The Reserve Bank of India clarified in August 2024 that there is no restriction on queer persons opening a joint account or naming a partner as nominee, and the Ministry of Finance issued an advisory to the same effect on 28 August 2024.

Is a same-sex marriage performed abroad valid in India?

It is not recognised as a marriage under Indian law, even if it is valid where it was registered. Couples married abroad should still make wills, nominations and other documents for their affairs in India.

Can we hold a wedding ceremony in India anyway?

Yes. A private wedding celebration is lawful. It has no legal effect as a marriage, so there is no registrar, notice period or certificate, and couples plan it like any other wedding.

What did the Supreme Court decide about transgender persons?

All five judges agreed that transgender persons in heterosexual relationships can marry under the existing marriage laws. Marriage between two people of the same gender remains unrecognised.

Can a transgender person register a marriage in India?

Yes, in a heterosexual relationship, and the Supreme Court said so unanimously in Supriyo. The Madras High Court had already held in Arunkumar v Inspector General of Registration, on 22 April 2019, that a marriage between a man and a transwoman, both Hindu, is valid under section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act and that the Registrar of Marriages is bound to register it, quashing the refusals and ordering registration. Obtain the certificate of identity under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 first, and make sure your name matches across documents.

What can we do if a registrar refuses to register our marriage?

Ask for the refusal as a written order rather than accepting it at the counter, because a written order is what you can challenge. Use the statutory appeal your state’s rules provide, which is usually to a District Registrar, Collector or Commissioner. If that fails, a writ petition in the High Court is the remedy, and in Arunkumar the court quashed the refusals and directed the registrar to register the marriage.

Sources and further reading

• Supriyo v. Union of India (2023)
• Recognition of same-sex unions in India
• All India Radio: no restrictions on joint bank accounts for queer persons
• Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018)
• Arunkumar v The Inspector General of Registration, Madras High Court, 22 April 2019
• Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, sections 4 to 7