Section 377: Supreme Court decriminalises homosexuality

India's apex court on 06 September 2018 struck down the 157 year old draconian law criminalising homosexuality, observing that persons who are homosexual have a fundamental right to live with dignity.

In a landmark verdict on Thursday 06 September, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra comprising Rohinton Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra scrapped the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalises h

Updated on:

07 Sep 2018, 11:31 am

2 min read

Saying that individual liberty is the soul of the constitution, Justice DY Chandrachud observed, 'Section 377 is a colonial legacy and it continued in the law book even after independence.' In image: Badges protesting against Section 377 of the India Penal Code (IPC), which criminalizes homosexuality, lie on a table in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. ( Photo | EPS/Melton Antony)

The historic judgement came on a batch of writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur and 20 former and current students of the IITs. They had sought decriminalisation of consensual sex between two consenting adults of the same sex by declaring Section 377 illegal and unconstitutional. (File | AP)

While pronouncing the verdict, CJI Misra said, 'Sans identity the name only remains a plain factor. Emphasis is laid on the identity of a person. The sustenance of identity is the pillar of life.' Calling the Section 377 irrational and arbitrary, the CJI also said that the LGBTQ community enjoys same rights as other citizens under the Constitution. (File | PTI)

Justice Nariman in his concurring judgements said that homosexuality was not a mental disorder or a disease.'Persons who are homosexual have a fundamental right to live with dignity,' Nariman said. (Photo | EPS/R Satish Babu)