A five-judge panel of India’s Supreme Court will begin hearing detailed arguments on April 18 in a landmark case seeking marriage equality for the country’s LGBTQ community.
The top court said the issue was of "seminal importance” and must be heard by a larger panel of judges. The order came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government opposed legalizing same-sex marriages and pressed for the issue to be debated and decided only by parliament.
The Indian constitution calls for cases involving crucial interpretations of the constitution to be heard by panels of at least five judges.