NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it had no reservations about the decriminalisation of gay sex and that it accepted the Delhi High Court’s landmark judgment in toto.
Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati said the High Court ruling had been an eye-opener to the government. The apex court had on Tuesday asked the AG to clarify the Centre’s stance on decriminalising gay sex.
The Bench also sought to know from the AG as to whether the affidavit filed by the government in the High Court, opposing gay sex, was wrong. The Advocate General submitted in court that the government had learnt from the High Court verdict that the criminalisation of gay sex violated the fundamental rights of the homosexuals.
“When we read the judgment, we learnt from it. The government accepts the correctness of the High Court judgment and that’s why we didn’t file an appeal challenging it,” Vahanavati told a Bench of Justice G S Singhvi and Justice S J Mukhopadya.
The AG further stated that the recent goof up in the court when Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra opposed gay sex was the result of lack of communication between the government counsels and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA.)
The Bench had on Tuesday pulled up the Centre for its ‘casual’ approach on decriminalisation of homosexuality and also expressed concern over Parliament not discussing such important issues and blaming judiciary for “over-reach”.
After going through various affidavits of the government filed in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court, the apex court had said the Centre has taken this case very casually which needs to be “condemned” and had directed the AG to be present before it to clarify the Centre’s stand.
It was in 2009 that the High Court issued the landmark judgement decriminalizing gay sex.
According to the court, sex between two consenting adults in private was okay and that it did not constitute an offence.