Indians dance for joy as court legalises gay relationships
INDIA has decriminalised gay sex, striking down a colonial-era law and sparking celebrations among LGBT groups and human rights campaigners across the country.
The supreme court in Delhi yesterday ruled that the Section 377 law, dating from 1861, was unconstitutional.
Onlookers were brought to tears as the judgment of the five-member bench was read outside India’s most powerful judicial authority.
Chief justice Dipak Mishra began by quoting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the 18th-century German philosopher: “I am what I am, so take me as I am.”
He said that homosexuality was neither a crime nor a “mental disorder” as described in the “incomprehensible” 157-year-old laws.
Justice Chandrachud, reading out the verdict, said: “Sexual minorities in India have lived in fear, hiding as second class citizens.”
Offenders faced up to 10 years in jail, although prosecutions were rare.
However, gay rights groups said the police used the law to harass and intimidate members of their community.
Reaction to the judgment was overall positive, with the political, corporate and entertainment worlds largely agreeing or staying mute.
RSS, the Hindu extremist group, even said that while it found homosexuality “not natural”, it did not believe it was a crime. The verdict came after a petition by five openly gay people, who claimed they were facing harassment and intimidation under the laws.
“When I heard the verdict, I just wanted to jump up and kiss my husband,” said Keshav Suri, who married his partner in France last year.
Nandita Das, the film director, said: “It is amazing to hear. It is a great day for social justice and human rights.”