Supreme Court rules it's not a crime to be a homosexual in India anymore

Supreme Court rules it’s not a crime to be a homosexual in India anymore CJI Misra quoted Schopenhauer, JS Mill and others on the freedom and liberty of an individual

Latest News : A five-judge Supreme Court Constitution bench on Thursday unanimously decriminalised consensual gay sex. The apex court termed part of IPC’s Section 377, which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

The court also partly struck down Section 377 as violative of the right to equality.

The historic judgement came on a batch of writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur and 20 former and current students of the IITs. “Any kind of sexual activity with animals shall remain penal offence under Section 377 of the IPC,” it said while adding that Section 377 of IPC was a weapon to harass members of LGBT community, resulting in discrimination.

The Supreme Court further added that the section is arbitrary and ‘untenable’.

ALSO READ: History owes apology to LGBT persons for discrimination: 10 points SC made The apex court said that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a violation of freedom of speech and expression. It said that the homosexual community has the same rights as everyone else.

“The constitution is a dynamic document, having the primary objective of establishing a dynamic and inclusive society,” the judgment…Read More