India's top court declined on Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriages but said the country had a duty to acknowledge LGBTQ relationships and to protect them from discrimination.

A five-judge constitutional bench — set up to consider important questions of law — began hearing submissions seeking the legalization of same-sex marriages in April, with arguments completed in May.

Advocates representing nearly two dozen petitioners said it was time for India to treat the country's LGBTQ community as equal citizens under its constitution.

But their verdict said that the constitution did not guarantee a fundamental right to marry that would extend to same-sex couples under existing law.

"It lies within the domain of parliament and state legislatures to determine the law on marriage," Supreme Court Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said during his verdict.

Chandrachud added that India still had a duty to acknowledge same-sex relationships and protect those in them from discrimination.

"Our ability to feel love and affection for one another makes us feel human," he said from the bench.

"This court has recognized that equality demands that queer unions and queer persons are not discriminated against."

The news was nonetheless greeted with disappointment by those who had gathered outside the court in the hopes of celebrating India becoming the second Asian jurisdiction outside Taiwan to legalize same-sex marriages.

"We are not satisfied with whatever the court has said," Siddhant Kumar, 27, told Agence France-Presse.

"This has been going on for years, we have been struggling for legal recognition," he added. "We have to remain strong and continue our fight."

The petitioners had said validating same-sex marriage would help them access some of the legal benefits of matrimony, including adoption, insurance and inheritance.