Indian government indicates it will not block move to decriminalise homosexuality
Gay sex has long been taboo in conservative India – particularly in rural areas where nearly 70 per cent of people live – and homophobia is widespread
The Indian government on Wednesday signalled it would not oppose a move to decriminalise homosexuality, as the country’s top court chewed over appeals to overturn a colonial-era ban.
Section 377 of the penal code, a relic from 1860s British legislation, bans gay acts as “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and allows for jail terms of up to life.
The Supreme Court began hearing petitions against the ban on Tuesday, in the latest twist in a legal tussle between social and religious conservatives and more liberal Indians.
Setting out New Delhi’s position on Wednesday, senior government lawyer Tushar Mehta said Delhi would leave whether to decriminalise homosexuality “to the wisdom” of the court.
The court on its part also appeared to be in favour of overhauling the archaic law, according to the NDTV news network.
“We don’t want a situation where two homosexuals enjoying a walk on Marine Drive [a Mumbai boulevard] should be disturbed by the police and charged under Section 377,” said Justice J. Chandrachud, who is a part of the bench hearing the matter.