The issue of Section 377 was first raised by NGO Naaz Foundation, which had in 2001 approached the Delhi High Court which had decriminalized the issue of intercourse between consenting adults of the same gender by holding the penal provision as "illegal". This 2009 judgment of the high court was overturned in 2013 by the apex court which had also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed which is pending. However in 2013 it restored criminality.
The section 377 of the Indian Penal Code dates back to 1861. Since the Indian constitution is based on the British constitution, a lot of rules that were made by the British have stayed intact in it as well. They are however changing with times as per requirement.
The same thing has happened with the article 377 as well. The law that once stated something as a punishable offense is no longer the same. In a landmark judgment for the LGBT community in the country, the Supreme Court lifted a colonial - era ban on and decriminalised article 377.
A five - judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had reserved its verdict on July 17 after hearing various stakeholders for four days, including activists. who were fighting the case on behalf of the LGBT community. Besides the CJI, the bench also comprised justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.
Part of the section, which speaks about child abuse and animal abuse still remains a criminal offense and is punishable by law.
The verdict was highly praised by Indian citizens, Bollywood celebrities and many more. While some felt that this verdict would affect the Indian culture as this decision is influenced by the western culture.
Doubts on this article
