'Disappointing': Celina Jaitly on same-sex marriage ruling by Supreme Court

Actor Celina Jaitly on Tuesday condemned the ruling by the Supreme Court on same-sex marriages. In a video statement exclusively accessed by India Today, the actor said, "The marriage ruling (Supreme Court) is definitely a disappointment. Something that I have said in my journey as a LGBT activist for the past 20 years is that the LGBT community is not asking for a different subset of rights. They are only asking for rights that every other citizen of India has."

"The right to a marriage, a family, it is the most important right that a human being can possess," she further said, adding that she hopes that the Parliament will amend the Special Marriages Act and make it gender-neutral. 

Earlier today, the Supreme Court refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages, saying it was up to Parliament to make laws to enable it. 

A five-judge constitution bench unanimously agreed that there is "no unqualified right" to marriage and same-sex couples can't claim it as a fundamental right.

Queerness is neither an urban nor an elite concept or characteristic, the court said, disagreeing with the Centre's view.