Bobby Darling Moves SC to Support Same-Sex Marriage

The actor Bobby Darling, who underwent gender reassignment surgery, filed an intervening application with the Supreme Court in support of the petition calling for the legalisation of same-sex unions.

In her intervening application, Bobby Darling pleaded with the supreme court to grant her permission to weigh in on the case and support same-sex marriage since it concerns an individual’s free choice, which has been officially recognised by the supreme court’s numerous rulings. Also check: Ileana D’Cruz Announces Pregnancy

The Supreme Court’s five-judge constitution bench will begin hearing the different petitions seeking the legal recognition of same-sex marriage on April 18. The trans Indian actress has filed the intervening plea in those cases. Also check: Allowing Same-Sex Couples To Adopt is Endanger Children, Claims NCPCR

Pakhi Sharma alias Bobby Darling stated in an intervening application, filed through attorney Meera Kaura, that the applicant is the best person to make the submissions while filing the current application for intervention in order to assist the court for the cause of different genders and to request the legal sanctity of stable relations in the form of marriage, as otherwise the partners in such relationships would not be able to maintain their relationship under normal circumstances.

Although having lived together for a number of years, such same-sex or third-gender relationships are not formally recognised by the law.

Pakhi Sharma, aka Bobby Darling, further requested that same-sex unions be permitted as they are currently necessary for bringing about financial security, social acceptance, and for other reasons, such as alimony, maintenance, etc.

So that such couples can live with security, dignity, and equality before the law and equal protection of the law after marriage.

“It is argued that until such relationships are given legal sanctity, they will continue to be fraught with uncertainty for an indefinite amount of time.

Additionally, even after spending years together as husband and wife or spouses, the rights or protections resulting from such relationships—such as pensionary benefits or other benefits of a wife or husband—are not granted by the government arbitrarily, which is against Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has recognised that two adults living in private and acting on their own free choice are exempt from punishment under section 377 of the IPC if they engage in sexual activity.

The applicant claimed that the “Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation” is a component of our fundamental legal system and is comparable to fundamental rights, but that if such couples continue to live together after a certain period of time, they will continue to do so indefinitely without receiving any recognition for their relationship or cohabitation.

Bobby Darling said the court that she was born a male but later went by the name “Pankaj Sharma,” always identified as a “woman,” and has been acting and dressing like a woman for a very long time.

Bobby Darling said that she underwent a difficult sex change or reassignment procedure in order to gain gender identification and equal respect in society.

She then got married to a normal guy in February 2016 in line with Hindu rites and customs, and the marriage was subsequently legalised.

Later on, however, Bobby Darling alleged that she had experienced domestic violence at the hands of her husband and claimed that he had married her with the deceptive objective of stealing her hard-earned money.

After only a few months of marriage, the applicant’s spouse allegedly put undue pressure on her to give up ownership of both her movable and immovable property and draught gift deeds etc. in his favour.

The actress informed the top court that she had been subjected to extensive emotional, verbal, financial, and physical abuse at the hands of her husband, who was pressuring her to give up possession of her other properties as well as most of her valuables, jewellery, and other moveable assets, which he then began selling and/or pawning.

Bobby Darling said the court that she eventually got away from her husband’s grasp, arrived in Delhi in August 2017, and then filed a case against him.

The competent courts have, for the time being, dismissed the said legal objections that were made by the applicant’s husband during the aforementioned legal proceedings, notwithstanding the applicant’s legally recognised marriage, Bobby Darling informed the Supreme Court.

“However, there is a gap in the law. On the one hand, this court has held that any citizen or individual has the right to choose his or her sexual identity or orientation, but the purposive test is whether such person can live like any other similarly situated human being in the society or not.

That is, after marriage or for all other purposes, such individual will have the equal protection of the laws, like domestic violence act, alimony, mai According to Bobby Darling, “in the aforementioned circumstances, the limited remedy of gender recognition without any substantive rights is in violation of the requirement of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.

According to the applicant, “under the said circumstances, keeping in mind the various judgements passed by the court, such as Navtej Singh Johar case, two persons of the same sex or different sexual orientations can live together, but such living together is not recognised by the law.

Therefore, the purpose or the achievement of the said relationship is not fulfilled unless and until such relationship is recognised by the law.”

Bobby Darling stated, “That applicants are at a very disadvantageous position and suffer discrimination, which is a violation of their rights under Articles 14, 16, and 21 of the Constitution of India, in the absence of any law governing marriages or marriage-like relationships among members of the LGBTQI community, and/or Uniform Civil Code.