New Delhi, July 14, 2025: To address the discrimination faced by queer persons, the Keshav Suri Foundation (‘KSF’) and the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (‘Vidhi’) collaborated to make recommendations to the High Powered Committee set up by the Central Government in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s judgement in Supriyo vs. Union of India (‘Supriyo’). The Court in Supriyo, while denying marriage equality to certain sections of the queer community, noted that there is a duty on the State to address the discrimination queer persons face on account of their gender identity/sexual orientation, and the non recognition of their relationships. KSF and Vidhi’s recommendations provide for the legislative, executive and policy measures that may be enacted by the State, specifically different ministries, regulators and professional bodies to ensure queer inclusion in India’s laws. On July 12, 2025, the KSF and Vidhi will officially launch their submissions to the public. The event will feature several panel discussions including with Vidhi fellows, queer civil society, senior lawyers, a talk by Justice Hon’ble (retd.) Sanjay Kishal Kaul of the Supreme Court, followed by an immersive theatrical performance at The LaLiT New Delhi.
The recommendations will be released in the form of four policy briefs, titled ‘Queering the Law: Beyond Supriyo’. The four briefs cover the following themes: recognition of queer relationships and families, discrimination: access to goods and services, queer affirmative healthcare, and prevention and prohibition of violence. The recommendations and briefs have been made after extensive interdisciplinary legal research and pan-India consultations carried out in the hybrid mode in New Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur, with participation and inputs from over 150 stakeholders, including the queer community, civil society, lawyers and activists.
Some of the core recommendations in the policy briefs include:
- Making secular marriage, parenthood, and inheritance laws inclusive of queer persons.
- Providing for a civil union framework for recognition of non-marital intimacies and a nomination regime to allow for legal recognition of chosen family.
- Reform of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 to provide for horizontal reservations to transgender persons in public education and employment, removing the requirement of medical procedures to identify within the binary genders of man and woman, and introduction of robust grievance redressal mechanisms to tackle private discrimination.
- Sector-specific measures across financial services, employment, education and housing to address discrimination and ensure inclusion.
- Banning conversion therapy and medically unnecessary surgeries on persons with intersex variations.
- Amendments to provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act, 2013 to recognise the specific forms of violence that queer persons face.
- Provision of gender affirming healthcare through issuance of professional guidelines, and ensuring access to queer affirmative and affordable mental healthcare.
Mr Keshav Suri, Executive Director of The LaLiT Hospitality Group and founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, has always pushed for inclusion for the queer community in all aspects of life, and these recommendations are a step in the same direction. The recommendations are set to bring a new dawn of inclusion in the society, especially if these recommendations are accepted and laws implemented.
Keshav Suri, Executive Director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group said, “Our nation’s journey towards equality demands collective action and clarity. Through this collaborative effort with Vidhi Legal, we are proud to present a set of actionable recommendations that chart a path forward — one that ensures dignity, rights, and recognition for LGBTQIA+ individuals in India. It is our hope that this document will serve as both a guide and a catalyst for the committee to take meaningful steps in translating the spirit of the judgment into tangible change.”
Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy added, “The High Powered Committee established by the Government provides a critical opportunity to engage with the State on how India’s laws may be made queer inclusive. Such inclusion can be enabled through legal and policy measures by both the Central Government as well as State Governments. We hope that KSF and Vidhi’s recommendations can play a role in assisting queer civil society and lawyers in deliberating the direction of queer inclusive law reform and undertaking strategic litigation.”
Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)
