NEW DELHI, March 20 -- The Supreme Court of India has decided that a batch of petitions demanding legal validation of same sex marriages will be taken up by a Constitution Bench, even as the Union Government has opposed the plea.

The Centre in an affidavit in Supreme Court said that legal validation of same-sex unions could cause "complete havoc" as most religions and Indian society at large recognize marriage as a union between a man and a woman, two persons of complementary sexes and not of same sex. Being a delicate issue needing much debate the Centre wants the legislators (Parliament) to handle this issue and said it is "impermissible" for the apex court to decide on a policy that is embedded in religious and social norms and would ...