India’s top court has decriminalised gay sex, striking down a colonial-era law, sparking jubilation among LGBTQ and human rights groups across the country.

The Supreme Court in Delhi ruled that the Section 377 law, dating from 1861, was unconstitutional.

The five-member bench said the concept that “I am what I am” must be protected under India law, and that homosexuality was neither a crime nor a “mental disorder” as described in the “incomprehensible” 157-year-old laws.

Gay sex was punishable by up to 10 years in jail under the 1861 law. Although prosecution under Section 377 is not common, gay activists say police use the law to harass and intimidate members of their community. </s> NEW DELHI – India’s top court has struck down a colonial-era law that makes homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The court gave its ruling Thursday on a petition filed by five people who challenged the law, saying they are living in fear of being harassed and prosecuted by police.

In 2009, a New Delhi High Court declared unconstitutional Section 377 of the law, which says intercourse between members of the same sex is against the order of nature. But the judgment was overturned by the Supreme Court, which says amending or repealing the law should be left to Parliament.

But the government left it to the court to decide the validity of the law dealing with consensual sexual acts between two adults. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "I'm finally glad I can say I'm not a criminal in this country anymore"

In a historic decision, India's Supreme Court has ruled that gay sex is no longer a criminal offence.

The ruling overturns a 2013 judgement that upheld a colonial-era law, known as section 377, under which gay sex is categorised as an "unnatural offence".

The court has now ruled discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a fundamental violation of rights.

Campaigners outside the court cheered and some broke down in tears as the ruling was handed down.

Although public opinion in India's biggest cities has been in favour of scrapping the law, there remains strong opposition among religious groups and in conservative rural communities.

But this ruling, from the top court, is the final say in the matter and represents a huge victory for India's LGBT community.

One activist outside the court told the BBC: "I hadn't come out to my parents until now. But today, I guess I have."

What have the judges said?

Thursday's decision was delivered by a five-judge bench headed by India's outgoing chief justice Dipak Misra and was unanimous.

Reading out the judgement, he said: "Criminalising carnal intercourse is irrational, arbitrary and manifestly unconstitutional."

Another judge, Indu Malhotra, said she believed "history owes an apology" to LGBT people for ostracising them.

Justice DY Chandrachud said the state had no right to control the private lives of LGBT community members and that the denial of the right to sexual orientation was the same as denying the right to privacy.

The ruling effectively allows gay sex among consenting adults in private.

What is section 377?

It is a 157-year-old colonial-era law which criminalises certain sexual acts as "unnatural offences" that are punishable by a 10-year jail term.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption A joyful reaction to the ruling at an NGO in Mumbai

The law punishes, in its own words, "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal".

While the statute criminalises all anal and oral sex, it has largely affected same-sex relationships.

Human rights groups say police have used the statute to harass and abuse members of the LGBT community.

'Recognising everyone's right to love'

Geeta Pandey, BBC News, Delhi

Even though it was rarely invoked when it involved consenting adults, section 377 could be - and was sometimes - used as a tool for harassment. It is not surprising then that campaigners are describing the verdict as a "new dawn for personal liberty".

But in a largely conservative India, where leaders of all religions have consistently opposed gay sex, it will still be a while before attitudes change and the community finds full acceptance.

But laws almost always play an important role in changing mindsets, and by recognising the community's right to love, the Supreme Court has restored the dignity denied to them for a very long time.

How did we get to this point?

It's been a tortuous route. A bid to repeal section 377 was initiated in 2001 and was batted between court and government until 2009, when the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of decriminalisation.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The power of "pink money" in India

Several political, social and religious groups then mobilised to restore the law and in 2013 the Supreme Court struck down the High Court ruling.

Anti-section 377 activists then submitted a "curative petition" - a formal request to review an earlier court order perceived as a "miscarriage of justice" - and in 2016 the Supreme Court decided to revisit its ruling.

What has the LGBT reaction been to the latest ruling?

One of joy given that the community has fought vigorously to strike down the law.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Activists say they are elated at the change although more needs to be done

Equal rights activists had argued that the very existence of such a law was proof of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

LGBT activist Harish Iyer told the BBC: "I'm absolutely elated. It's like a second freedom struggle where finally we have thrown a British law out of this country... I think the next step would be to get anti-discrimination laws in place, or anti-bullying laws."

Messages of support were posted on Twitter, including from film director Karan Johar:

Journalist Anna MM Vetticad said India had been saved from its shame:

How have political parties reacted?

The governing BJP party has said it would leave the decision to the Supreme Court.

However, one of its members said he was disappointed with the verdict.

Subramanian Swamy, known for making provocative comments, said: "It could give rise to an increase in the number of HIV cases."

Meanwhile, the main opposition Congress party has welcomed the ruling, saying they "hope this is the beginning of a more equal and inclusive society".

The UN has also welcomed the ruling, saying "sexual orientation and gender expression form an integral part of an individual's identity the world over".

What else was said in the ruling?

The court said other aspects of section 377 dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children would remain in force.

The judges also explicitly said that they only ruled on the constitutional validity of section 377 and were not looking at it in terms of other rights such as those related to marriage or inheritance.

It remains too early to say what this will translate to in the longer term.

Author and commentator Sandip Roy told the BBC that although the ruling was a cause for celebration, there were still hurdles to overcome, and a need for anti-discrimination laws.

"I think we would be foolish to think that this is the end of the fight," he said.

Where is homosexuality illegal?

The 2017 report from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (Ilga) lists 72 countries and territories where same-sex relationships are still criminalised, although that includes India before its latest ruling.

Most of them are in Africa, the Middle East and other parts of south Asia.

The report said homosexuality could still result in the death penalty in eight nations. </s> NEW DELHI — In a possible advance for gay rights in India, the Supreme Court ordered a review on Monday of Section 377, a colonial-era law reinstated in 2013 that criminalizes consensual sex between men.

Responding to a petition filed by members of the gay, bisexual and transgender community who said they felt persecuted for their sexual orientation, a three-person bench of judges referred Section 377 to a larger bench for reconsideration, noting that Indians who are gay “should never remain in a state of fear,” and that “societal morality also changes from age to age.”

“Law copes with life and accordingly change takes place,” the court said.

The decision to revisit Section 377 comes after a landmark decision last August, when the Supreme Court ruled that all Indian citizens have a constitutional right to privacy. In the judgment, the court wrote that “sexual orientation is an essential attribute to privacy.”

Gay rights activists said they were elated by Monday’s decision, if still cautious.

“It’s about time that Section 377 is thrown out,” said Harish Iyer, a well-known activist. “We are a small number and we need to keep shouting.”

Introduced in 1861, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code imposes a 10-year prison sentence on “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with man, woman or animal.” It most often applies to sex between men, but also extends to oral and non-vaginal sex of any kind. According to the privacy judgment, about 200 people have been prosecuted under Section 377. </s> NEW DELHI — In a groundbreaking victory for gay rights, India’s Supreme Court on Thursday struck down one of the world’s oldest laws criminalizing consensual gay sex, putting to rest a legal battle that stretched for many years and burying one of the most glaring vestiges of India’s colonial past.



After weeks of deliberation in the Supreme Court and decades of struggles by gay Indians, Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the law, known as Section 377, was “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.”

In court filings that stretched for hundreds of pages, more than two dozen petitioners related the emotional cost of living closeted lives, the bouts of depression, the abuse, the persecution, the blackmail and the coming-out journeys they had made while living under a shadow that made their most intimate behavior illegal.

“This ruling is hugely significant,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director for Human Rights Watch. India is the world’s second-most populous country, home to many millions of gay people, and Ms. Ganguly said the ruling could set a precedent for nations with similar colonial-era laws to end their “discriminatory, regressive treatment” of gay and transgender citizens. </s> The Supreme Court will reconsider the Constitutional validity of Section 377. A 3-judge bench of Supreme Court on Monday said that it will re-examine its verdict upholding Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalises gay sex. The Supreme Court showed concern to a writ petition filed by members of the LGBT community who raised the issue that they live in fear of police because of their natural sexual preferences. The Supreme Court while speaking on the matter issued a notice to the Centre seeking a response on a writ petition filed by LGBT community members.

One of the LGBT activist Akkai following Supreme Court’s observations said, “We need to welcome it. We still have hope from Indian judiciary. We are living in the 21st century. All politicians and political parties must break their silence and support individual’s sexuality. Speaking after Supreme Court’s saying that it will reconsider the constitutional validity of section 377, All Indian Mahila Congres President Sushmita Dev said, “Congress welcomes Supreme Court’s decision. Everybody has equal right to live life the way they want.”

Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice (CJI) Dipak Misra decided to re-examine the top court’s earlier order upholding section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. “Our earlier order needs to be reconsidered,” said Justice Misra. Supreme Court’s order has come following a petition by individuals holding that IPC section 377 was “violative of fundamental rights under Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 21 (right to life)”. The top court has decided to reconsider the constitutional validity of section 377 after it had overruled a Delhi High Court order when it decriminalized homosexuality by overturning the colonial-era law. </s> [India], Sep. 6 (ANI): In a landmark judgement, after months of deliberations, the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which criminalised homosexuality.

A five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra and comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud, Rohinton Fali Nariman, A M Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra, issued the verdict on a bunch of petitions filed to scrap the law. The bench had earlier reserved its verdict on July 17.

Criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible, observed the CJI while delivering the verdict. The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community has same rights as any other citizen, the CJI added. Respect for each other's rights, and others are supreme humanity, observed the bench unanimously, while saying that right to live with dignity is right.

Known as Section 377 of the IPC, the 157-year-old law criminalised certain sexual acts, terming them as 'unnatural offences', punishable by a 10-year jail term.

The law punished "carnal inter­course against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" and thus had bigger implications for same-sex relationships.

The legal battle to scrap the statute has gone on for several years.

The Delhi High Court, in 2009, decriminalised homosexuality. But in 2013, the Supreme Court restored the colonial-era law. Three years later, the top court agreed to hear the Section 377 petition once more.

Petitioners before the Supreme Court argued that the controversial law was not in tandem with a 2017 ruling that guaranteed the right to privacy to people.

During the hearing in July, the government told the apex court that it would leave to the wisdom of the court to decide the constitutional validity of Section 377. (ANI) </s> NEW DELHI (NYTIMES) - In a possible advance for gay rights in India, the Supreme Court ordered a review of Section 377, a colonial-era law reinstated in 2013 that criminalises consensual sex between men.

Responding to a petition filed by members of the gay, bisexual and transgender community who said they felt persecuted for their sexual orientation, a three-person bench of judges on Monday (Jan 8) referred Section 377 to a larger bench for reconsideration, noting that Indians who are gay "should never remain in a state of fear," and that "societal morality also changes from age to age."

The decision to revisit Section 377 comes after a landmark decision in August 2017, when the Supreme Court ruled that all Indian citizens have a constitutional right to privacy.

In the judgment, the court wrote that "sexual orientation is an essential attribute to privacy."

Gay rights activists said they were elated by Monday's decision, if still cautious.

Introduced in 1861, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code imposes a 10-year prison sentence on "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with man, woman or animal."

It most often applies to sex between men, but also extends to oral and non-vaginal sex of any kind.

The push to strike down the law gained momentum in 2001, when Anjali Gopalan, executive director of the Naz Foundation, an AIDS awareness group, filed a lawsuit challenging it.

In a major victory, the highest court in New Delhi, the capital, ruled in 2009 that Section 377 was unconstitutional.

With Monday's decision, Anand Grover, a lawyer leading the push to invalidate the law, said a new verdict could be reached in the first half of this year.

"I'm in high spirits," he said. "I always look at things in a positive manner and this is more than positive."

Reacting to the Supreme Court decision, Subramanian Swamy, a prominent member of Parliament with the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, told Asian News International, an Indian news network, that homosexuality was not a problem as long as people "don't celebrate it, don't flaunt it, don't create gay bars to select partners."

He said Section 377 was still necessary. "If you flaunt it," he said, "it has to be punished." </s> NEW DELHI — In a possible advance for gay rights in India, the Supreme Court ordered a review on Monday of Section 377, a colonial-era law reinstated in 2013 that criminalizes consensual sex between men.

Responding to a petition filed by members of the gay, bisexual and transgender community who said they felt persecuted for their sexual orientation, a three-person bench of judges referred Section 377 to a larger bench for reconsideration, noting that Indians who are gay “should never remain in a state of fear,” and that “societal morality also changes from age to age.”

“Law copes with life and accordingly change takes place,” the court said.

The decision to revisit Section 377 comes after a landmark decision last August, when the Supreme Court ruled that all Indian citizens have a constitutional right to privacy. In the judgment, the court wrote that “sexual orientation is an essential attribute to privacy.”

Gay rights activists said they were elated by Monday’s decision, if still cautious.

“It’s about time that Section 377 is thrown out,” said Harish Iyer, a well-known activist. “We are a small number and we need to keep shouting.”
The Supreme Court of India strikes down Article 377, a colonial-era law which criminalized homosexuality, declaring it unconstitutional.