A woman has claimed that her company has since sacked her after media reports that she had taken marriage vows with her partner in an unofficial ceremony in a Bengaluru temple on Tuesday, the Bangalore Mirror reported on Thursday.

The newspaper had reported on Wednesday that the women – distant relatives aged 25 and 21 – had organised a wedding ceremony in a temple in Koramangala.

Same-sex marriages are not legal in India.

‘This is totally unfair’

On Thursday, the younger woman claimed she was fired from her company Gozefo.com – an e-commerce marketplace that deals in refurbished and second-hand goods – after a TV channel published pictures from their Facebook profiles.

“The company people called me in the morning and asked me whether I wanted to continue with the job,” she told the Bangalore Mirror. “They asked me to talk to my parents and get back to them. I told them I’ll talk to my lawyers and get back to them.”

The 21-year-old said she was informed of the company’s decision to sack her after she called the human resources department back at 5.30 pm “since they know that it’s me who is making the rounds in the media from morning”.

‘We did not get married at all’

Meanwhile, her partner told the newspaper that they had not got married and only lived together. The two claimed they were victims of a “smear campaign” launched by the older woman’s father.

“No one can just claim that it’s her [on TV channels] and throw her out of the company,” the 25-year-old woman said. “They told her it’s very evident from what the TV channels had showed in the visuals and did this. We did not get married at all. In fact, I’m related to her, and we live in the same house. This is really not acceptable.”

The older woman said TV channels had broadcast their photos from Facebook, saying “there was nothing wrong” because the Bangalore Mirror had already done so.

The younger woman’s father has lodged a complaint at the Vijaynagar Police Station.

Section 377

People from the LGBT community have no legal right in India to be married. In 2013, the Supreme Court had re-criminalised Section 377, which criminalises homosexual sex, after the Delhi High Court had decided to strike it down in 2009.

The woman’s alleged sacking drew sharp reactions from members of the LGBTIQ community. They have launched a campaign asking their supporters to boycott Gozefo.com.

The company did not respond to queries from the Bangalore Mirror. However, a senior official of the company told the daily that the news was hard to believe. He did not offer any official comment.