The Supreme Court announced today that a five-judge Constitution bench will hear final arguments on April 18 regarding the legal recognition of same-sex marriages in India.

The top Court referred to the issue as “a matter of seminal importance” and indicated that any result would have a significant impact on society.

A three-judge bench said, “Don’t cut down anyone’s time and this must be regarded. This ruling will have a major influence on society”.

The judges stated, “We believe that the five-judge panel of this court should resolve the issues in question while giving proper consideration to Article 145(3) of the Constitution. We thus order that it be brought before a constitutional bench”.

The Centre had earlier argued that same-sex marriage is not compatible with the concept of an ‘Indian family unit’, which it said comprises a husband, a wife, and children which inherently assume a biological man as a ‘husband’, a biological woman as a ‘wife’ and the children born out of the union between the two – who are reared by the biological man as a father and the biological woman as a mother.

Also read: Centre opposes Same-Sex Marriage Recognition In Supreme Court

The government stated that despite the legalization of Section 377 of the Indian Criminal Code, the petitioners cannot assert a basic right for same-sex marriage to be recognized under Indian law.

The Supreme Court website and YouTube will both webcast the hearing live.