New Delhi, January 8: The Supreme Court (SC) today agreed to reconsider its 2013 decision which criminalised gay sexual relations and said it will review Section 377 of Indian Penal Code that makes such relations a crime.
The SC today also issued a notice to the Centre seeking its response to a writ petition filed by five members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community, who said they live in fear of police because of their natural sexual orientation and preferences. The apex court also referred to a Constitution bench the petition seeking to decriminalise consensual sex between LGBTQ adults.
In December 2013, the SC set aside the Delhi High Court’s 2009 verdict decriminalising homosexuality. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said the SC’ s December 2013 judgment upholding the validity of Section 377 – which says sexual intercourse between consenting adults of the same gender is a crime – appears to hurt the sexual preferences of individuals.
