25 Dec 2009 | India
Delhi HC decriminalises Sec 377
The law was against the essence of fundamental rights provided in the Constitution, said judges
Hardnews Bureau
In a historic judgment today, the Delhi High Court decriminalised Section 377 of IPC which sought punishment up to 10 years for any kind of sexual intercourse against the order of nature.
The two-judge bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar noted that the law barring consenting individuals from indulging in sexual practices of their choice is against the very essence of the fundamental rights provided in the Constitution. "We declare Section 377 of IPC in so far as it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private is violative of Articles 14, 21 and 15 of the Constitution," the judges said.
However, the court said that the Section 377 will continue to govern non-consensual penile non-vaginal sex and penile non vaginal sex involving minors.
The petitioners, Naz Foundation and Voices Against 377, had questioned the law stating that it was against the fundamental rights of a large number of homosexual citizens of the country. It has requested the court to remove consensual homosexuality from the ambit of the law.
The Central government is now in a fix. The government which was initially very enthusiastic about scrapping the law, termed as 'outdated' by law minister, Veerappa Moily, later backtracked because of mounting pressure from religious leaders.
Young people, however, welcomed the verdict. "The decision of the court will definitely help in strengthening the democratic fabric of the country," a student told Hardnews.
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