Indian Supreme Court Wednesday ruled that gay sex is a criminal offence.
New Delhi, Dec 11/Nationalturk- In a major setback to homosexual community in India, Indian Supreme Court Wednesday said gay sex is a criminal offence.
A division bench of Supreme Court comprising Justice G S Singhvi and Justice S J Mukhopadhaya set aside 2009 Delhi High Court’s verdict and said gay sex is a criminal offence.
Earlier, in 2009 Delhi High Court had decriminalised gay sex among consenting adults in private.
Various social and religious organisations had challenging the Delhi High Court verdict in the Apex court saying gay sex is against the cultural and religious values of the country.
‘No constitutional infirmity in law’
The Supreme Court said there is “no constitutional infirmity” in the law, which left critics wondering about the lack of judicial activism to defend rights.
“It is for legislature to look into desirability of deleting section 377 of Indian Penal Code, but till the time this penal provision is there, the court cannot legalise this kind of sexual relationship,” the apex court ruled.
With the Supreme Court verdict, the operation of penal provision against gay sex has come into force.
‘Gay activists disappointed’
The gay activists were disappointed over the verdict.
“This is a black day for the community. The judgement is a big disappointment. We will take the issue forward and fight back,” they said.
While reacting to Supreme Court verdict, Chief Executive of Amnesty International India, G Ananthapadmanabhan has said, “This decision is a body blow to people’s rights to equality, privacy and dignity. It is hard not to feel let down by this judgement, which has taken India back several years in its commitment to protect basic rights.”
Sex between people of the same gender had been illegal in India since the 1860s, when a British colonial law classified it as ‘against the order of nature’. But in September 2009, the Delhi High Court struck down a portion of Section 377 that criminalised gay sex.
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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk India News
