The state has no business to get in controlling the private lives of LGBT community members: Supreme Court Justice DY Chandrachud…
‘Equal rights’, ‘historic judgment’: Celebs hail SC’s verdict decriminalising homosexuality
Our Correspondent / New Delhi
In a major verdict, the Supreme Court today scrapped the controversial Section 377- a 158-year-old colonial law on consensual gay sex. The Supreme Court reversed its own decision and said Section 377 is irrational and arbitrary.
“LGBT Community has same rights as of any ordinary citizen. Respect for individual choice is the essence of liberty; LGBT community possesses equal rights under the constitution. Criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible,” said Chief Justice Dipak Misra, who headed the five judge bench hearing the case.
The Supreme Court today partly struck down Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex.
A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court today unanimously decriminalised part of the 158 year-old colonial law.
The bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra termed the part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises unnatural sex as irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.
The bench, which also comprised Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, struck down Section 377 as being violative of the right to equality.
The Supreme Court said other aspects of Section 377 dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children remain in force.
Section 377 refers to ‘unnatural offences’ and says whoever voluntarily has “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal”, shall be punished by up to 10 years in jail under the 1861 law. Although prosecution under Section 377 is not common, gay activists say the police use the law to harass and intimidate members of their community.
Supreme Court of India decriminalizes homosexuality in a landmark judgement. #Section377 “ Look for the rainbow in every-crowd.. Equality & liberty & this freedom can only be fulfilled when each 1of us realizes LGBT community has same rights as other citizens” CJI @GoNews24x7 pic.twitter.com/8cKsKaOpLs
— Sidharth Pandey (@SidharthPandey) September 6, 2018
UN welcomes SC verdict
The United Nations welcomed the supreme court order. “Sexual orientation and gender expression form an integral part of an individual’s identity the world over, and violence, stigma and discrimination based on these attributes constitute an egregious violation of human rights,” the world body said in a statement.
Senior advocate Arvind Datar on 377 verdict
It is a land mark judgement
Now sex between two consenting adults of the same sex is not a crime
LGBT community who have been living under fear of prosecution can now live without fear and stigma
Justice Indu Malhotra opinion is touchy as she said history owes an apology