The long-awaited ruling quashes petitioners’ hopes of more than doubling the number of people worldwide with marriage equality rights as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had opposed the move, arguing that in Indian culture, marriage is between a man and a woman.

Only Taiwan and Nepal allow same-sex unions in Asia, where largely conservative values still dominate politics and society.

India’s top court delivered a verdict today(Tuesday) on granting legal recognition to same-sex marriages, a ruling that had the potential to spark momentous changes in the world’s most populous country.

The case is seen as a milestone event for LGBTQ rights in India, following a historic 2018 judgment by the Supreme Court that scrapped a colonial-era ban on same-sex.

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India heard arguments in the case between April and May and reserved its order on May 11.

The Indian government has opposed these appeals, calling them “urban elitist views” and stating that the parliament is the right platform to debate the matter.

It has also been said that such marriages are not “comparable with the Indian family unit concept of a husband, a wife, and children.”

People from India’s LGBTQ community say they continue to face discrimination in their daily lives, despite the 2018 ruling. They argue that legal backing for same-sex marriage would safeguard constitutional rights for the community.