Dutee Chand on same-sex marriage verdict: 'Upset all plans'

Sprinter Dutee Chand expressed her disappointment with Supreme Court’s verdict on same-sex marriages. The court had ruled against legalising same-sex marriage in India and left it to the Parliament to decide on the contentious issue. The unanimous order by a five-judge bench came as a blow to the LGBTQ community in the country, five years after the court scrapped a colonial-era ban on gay sex. Dutee Chand, who had become the first openly gay Indian athlete in May 2019, expressed her disappointment and said the ruling has ‘upset her plans.’ Why the Supreme Court did not legalise same-sex marriage in India: The big takeaways “I plan to marry my partner Monalisa. But the decision of the apex court has upset all plans. I have been living with Monalisa for five years. We are happy together and as adults, we have every right to make our own decisions. We hope Parliament passes a law allowing same-sex marriages,” Dutee was quoted as saying by Times of India. Chand has been in a relationship with Monalisa for some years now and the pair posed for the cover of Odia magazine Kadambini. The duo had reportedly first met during a Khudurkuni puja and later moved in together. Dutee has spoken about facing criticism from her family after she announced she was in a same-sex relationship. On the track she’s been a strong advocate for LGBTQ athletes: she participated in the Queen’s Baton in 2021 and shed light on homophobia in Commonwealth countries. She then held a LBTQIA+ flag at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.