NEW DELHI, May 3: The Union Government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it will constitute a committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary to address genuine, human concerns faced by the lesbian, gay and transgender community members in their daily lives.
“The government is positive,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted before a Constitution Bench hearing the same sex marriage case. “My friends [petitioners] can give me the suggestions for the problems they are facing. The committee will go into them and try as far as possible and legally permissible to see they are addressed,” Mehta said.
The committee will be constituted considering the fact that the issues faced by the community would span across Ministries, the government said. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners, said the hearings should go on as the government has assured to only make administrative changes.
Justice S. Ravindra Bhat said though the Centre coined it as “administrative,” substantive changes, even changes in law, would have to be considered. Mehta assured that whatever changes were legally permissible would be done.
(Manas Dasgupta)