Gay sex legal in India, court rules

INDIA’S Supreme Court has decriminalised gay sex – previously an offence punishable by up to ten years in prison.

Five judges ruled the colonial era law was used to harass the gay community and resulted in discrimination.

After the ruling, opponents of the law danced and waved flags outside the court. ‘We feel as equal citizens now,’ activist Shashi Bhushan said. ‘What happens in our bedroom is left to us.’

Over the past decade, gay people have started to be accepted in big cities but they are still seen as shameful in much of the country.