Homosexuality
Monday’s order holds out hope for LGBT activists as arguments in the case will be heard afresh and petitioners can draw support from last August’s right to privacy judgment that spoke of the right to sexual orientation and choice of sexual partners. A ninejudge bench of the court observed then that the chilling effect of Section 377 “poses a grave danger to the unhindered fulfillment of one’s sexual orientation, as an element of privacy and dignity.”
India is among few modern democracies that still criminalise homosexual acts. Section 377 was introduced in 1861 during British rule. It was repealed in England and Wales in 1967.“This is a small victory but it has brought back some hope, for the first time. I am very happy about the development and have full faith in the court, the judiciary system and the Constitution,” Dalmia said. “I think it (repealing of Section 377) is just a matter of time now.”
Section 377 punishes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with man, woman or animal” with life imprisonment, though formal prosecution is rare. But activists allege the law forces the LGBT community to live in fear and face blackmail, intimidation and pervasive discrimination. The court noted that it would not judge that portion of the law that criminalises intercourse with an animal. It also specified the discussion would be restricted to consenting adults so that children remain protected. “Consent between two adults has to be the primary pre-condition otherwise children would become prey, which the Constitution does not allow. Protection of children in all spheres has to be guided,” it said.
In 2009, Section 377 was read down by the Delhi high court, which decriminalised consensual same-sex relationships between adults, but this was overturned in December 2013 by the top court, which asked Parliament to bring a law if it wished to do so. A review petition against the decision was dismissed, but a curative petition is pending in the Supreme Court. The top court said the latest petition raised larger issues that needed consideration.
The Supreme Court bench said on Monday that natural and sexual orientation and choice could not be allowed to cross the boundaries of law, but added: “The confines of law cannot trample or curtail the inherent right embedded in an individual under article 21 (right to dignity).” ting into IIMS it has led to more female students applying for CAT too. We have been consciously trying to keep the test pattern gender neutral and diverse so that it caters to all,” said Neeraj Dwivedi, CAT convenor, IIM Lucknow.
The first key change, according to a former CAT convenor who asked not to be identified, was introduced in 2015, and reduced marginally the importance given to quantitative ability, a mathematics-heavy assessment that gave those in engineering an edge. “This created a level-playing field for all candidates and has helped in promoting diversity too,” added this person.
Among the 100 percentile scorers is Delhi’s Chhavi Gupta, a business analyst at an IT company. “Thankfully, I had a family that supported me a 100%,” she told HT, recounting how she saw other female peers succumb to patriarchal stereotypes that discouraged their studying.
India has 20 IIMS that admit nearly 4,000 students into their flagship two-year management programs. Apart from the IIMS, around 100 institutes use CAT scores for admissions.