The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the centre on a petition on same-sex marriage.

The petition seeks a direction to the central government to recognize same-sex marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) and the Special Marriage Act (SMA), a report stated.

A bench of justices, Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Asha Menon asked the central government to submit its response within four weeks.

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The bench also listed the case for hearing along with two other petitions seeking a similar relief.

The petition was filed by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and activists Abhijit Iyer Mitra, Gopi Shankar M., Giti Thadani and G. Oorvasi.

The plea argued that the Supreme Court had decriminalized consensual homosexual sex in the country in 2018.

Hence, the prohibition of marriage between people of the LGBT community was discriminating towards them.

“Section 5 of HMA clearly states that marriage can be performed between ‘any two Hindus, said the plea.

Nowhere in HMA is it mentioned that marriage should happen between a Hindu man and a Hindu woman.

Such marriages are not being registered in states across the country at present.