Member of Legislative Assembly and Naga Peoples Front (NPF) legislature party leader Kuzholuzo Nienu has opposed legalizing of same-sex marriage stating that such relationships are not acceptable to Naga customary law or any of the known faiths including Christianity.

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage after a marathon hearing of 10 days. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud observed it cannot give a declaration on the anticipation as to how Parliament is likely to respond to it.

Download Nagaland Tribune app on Google Play

Nienu, in his statement, said that the case of a ‘very sensitive nature and one that can have far-reaching implications on the nature of society existing for years and on the very foundations of traditions upheld for millennia.’

“Notwithstanding what is in the scriptures, the Naga people have traditionally followed age-old wisdom and have believed in the holy union of man and woman which is marriage,” he stated. Nienu maintained that the proposal of legalizing same-sex marriage was ‘unwise’ and against centuries of wisdom and thought around the world.

According to the MLA, same-sex marriage would present complications in inheritance and ‘custody of children in case of separation of partners due to the debatable nature of who is the man and who is wife.’

This will lead to further complications and legal tangles that may not be easy to resolve, he stated.

He further said that when India legalized homosexuality in 2018 following a Supreme Court order, it was ‘largely tolerated and accepted’ but ‘legalizing same-sex marriages may have a more unsavoury reaction from the society at large.’

Read more: Supreme Court reserves verdict on pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage