LGBTQ Rights in India: An Insight into the Provisions of Marriage, Adoptions & Challenges

The discussions related to LGBTQ communities have been either for providing them all the rights as other common citizens or ensuring their gender identity. These have been prevalent since a long period of time. Different movements took place world-wide and as a result many countries understood their needs and grievances and thus formed a set of provisions which provide them with the basic rights and ensure other equal opportunities. In India, the courts of law had a bigger role in providing rights to the people of the LGBTQ community. The de-criminalization of Section 377 of IPC was one such initiative which allowed consensual same-sex relationship between any two adults. Prior to this, the Supreme Court of India also declared the Transgender community as the third gender and recognized their gender identity. Despite all these positive aspects, we are lagging behind in providing the community with equal rights, in comparison to other common people, especially when it comes to the provisions related to marriage and adoption. This paper aims to give an insight into some aspects related to LGBTQ rights in Indian context. Starting with elaborating on the background of the issue which covers important historical part, the paper deals with landmark precedents, highlights marriage and adoption rights of the community, takes references of world-wide provisions, contemporary challenges and finally concludes with providing solutions to the problems in discussion.