Same-sex marriage in India: where it actually stands, and what you can legally do today

Every few months a headline announces that same-sex marriage is about to be legal in India, and every few months it is not. Here is the position as of September 2026, in plain terms, followed by what queer couples can actually do to protect each other under the law as it is. Check the dates on anything you read after this, including this.

The judgment

On 17 October 2023 a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court decided Supriyo v. Union of India. All five judges agreed on the outcome: the court would not read same-sex marriage into the Special Marriage Act, and there is no fundamental right to marry. It said that changing marriage law is for Parliament. Two of the five judges would have recognised civil unions; three would not. So there is no civil union either.

The court did say some useful things unanimously. Queer people have the right to choose a partner and to live together, the state must protect them from violence and harassment for doing so, and the police cannot harass queer couples or force them back to their families. Those are real rights and they are enforceable, which is what the next section is about.

Review petitions were filed. In January 2025 a bench dismissed them, finding no error apparent on the record. The route now runs through Parliament, and no bill is before it. The Union government has said it opposes the change. That is where it stands.

What you can do today

The absence of marriage does not mean the absence of protection. Most of what marriage does for a couple can be built by hand, and couples who have done it are much safer than couples who are waiting.

Live together, openly

Two adults living together is legal. If a family tries to remove one partner by force, the other can approach the High Court with a habeas corpus petition, and courts across India have repeatedly ordered that an adult be free to go where and with whom they choose. Several High Courts have ordered police protection for queer couples. Keep copies of both partners' ID and proof of age at home and on the phone.

Make a will

Without a will, your property goes to your legal heirs, which means parents and siblings, not your partner. A will fixes that. It does not need a lawyer to be valid, though one helps: write it, sign it, have two witnesses sign it who are not beneficiaries, and register it at the sub-registrar's office so it cannot be "lost". A registered will is very hard for a family to overturn.

Nominate your partner

Bank accounts, provident fund, insurance policies, mutual funds and demat accounts all allow a nominee, and in most cases you can nominate anybody. Do it for every account. A nominee receives the money directly without a court process. Note that for some assets a nominee is only a trustee for the legal heirs, which is why the will matters too.

Medical decisions

Hospitals default to family for consent. Write an advance medical directive and a medical power of attorney naming your partner, get both notarised, and keep them where they can be found. Tell your doctor. The Supreme Court recognised advance directives in 2018 and simplified them in 2023.

Property together

Buy in both names as joint owners. If only one name is on the deed, the other partner has no claim at all. Rent agreements can name both tenants; insist on it.

Children

A single person can adopt in India. A couple who are not married cannot adopt jointly, and the adoption regulations were tightened in 2022 on exactly this point. One partner can adopt as a single parent; the other has no legal relationship to the child. That is the hardest gap and no document fully closes it. A will naming a guardian is the closest thing available.

What this means for dating

Nothing on this list needs a wedding, but all of it needs a conversation, and that conversation is easier with someone who already knows the landscape. It is one reason relationship goals are a field on a profile here rather than a surprise on a third date. If you are looking for the long thing, say so.

For legal aid, the helpline directory lists organisations that help queer couples with wills, protection orders and habeas petitions, often free.