India's Supreme Court to Review Colonial-era Law on Gay Rights

Gay rights supporters praised the Supreme Court in India following its decision to reconsider the 1861 ruling on gay sex.

A report from CNS News said a five-judge panel will sit in court following the India's top court decision on Tuesday to re-examine a colonial-era law that makes homosexual acts liable to be punished by a decade in prison.

In 2009, a New Delhi High Court affirmed unconstitutional Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which says intercourse between members of the same sex is against the order of nature. The decree was reversed after four years when the Supreme Court decided that the amending of the law should be in the hands of the Parliament. However, India's Parliament was in no hurry to change the law, the news source recalled.

The appeals of the gay rights campaigners were heard by country's chief justice T.S. Thakur and two other judges, according to The Wall Street Journal India Edition. The judges then would refer the matter to a five-member bench to assess constitutionality of India's colonial-era anti-sodomy law.

"We've got another shot at changing the law," said Arvind Narrain, a lawyer who is in favor of reversing the decision. "We're going to be able to re-debate the matter from scratch," as quoted by the WSJ.

The decision to review the law comes after members of the Parliament blocked an effort from the opposition Congress party to amend Section 377. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, which has deep Hindu nationalist roots, has not taken any steps to change the law, the site added.

Daily Mail Online observed that many activists are confident that the Tuesday's ruling will have positive developments. Gay rights supporters said they were hopeful that the verdict would ultimately go in their favor, giving them a chance to live openly.

Although the Supreme Court did not mention when the five-member panel will be appointed, gay-rights activists celebrated the unexpected victory in the hopes of achieving full equality as Indian citizens.

Tags

Gay rights, Section 377, Indian Penal Code, anti-sodomy law, homosexuality, LGBT

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