UP AND KERALA RANK HIGHEST IN CASES UNDER SECTION 377

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh, followed by Kerala, topped the list of states where the maximum number of cases were registered under Indian Penal Code’s (IPC) Section 377, which was partly struck down by the Supreme Court last week.

Altogether, 4,690 cases were registered between 2014 and 2016 under Section 377, which criminalised sexual activities “against the order of nature”.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), as many as 2,195 cases were registered under Section 377 in 2016, 1,347 in 2015 and 1,148 cases in 2014.

Uttar Pradesh topped the list in 2016, with 999 such cases, followed by Kerala with 207.

In Delhi, 183 cases were registered under Section 377 and in Maharashtra 170 such cases were registered. According to the NCRB data, in 2015, the highest number of cases under Section 377 was registered in Uttar Pradesh at 239. In 2015, Kerala and Maharashtra registered 159 gay sex cases each, Haryana saw 111 cases and Punjab registered 81 such cases. However, among the 1,347 cases registered in the country in 2015, in 814 cases, the victims were children.

Those people who have cases pending against them Section 377 can now breathe easy as the Supreme Court’s September 6 verdict, can be used to quash the cases at any stage, home ministry officials said.