India’s top court upholds marriage definition

A five-judge panel in India on Tuesday declined to legalize same-sex marriage. In its ruling, the court said it is Parliament’s responsibility to take up the issue. The decision comes after the court heard 21 petitions to legalize same-sex marriage earlier this year. “This court can’t make law,” said Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. He said the court could only interpret the law and “give effect to it.”

What else did the chief justice say? Chandrachud gave the government some directives regarding LGBTQ people. He told the government to “take steps to sensitize the public about queer identity." The advice may have a limited effect—lawyer Pyoli Swatija told Al Jazeera that the government of India is not bound to follow the directives.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s report in WORLD Magazine on the push to embrace homosexuality in evangelical churches.