SC declares Gay sex illegal!!
In what can be called as a revolutionary judgement, the Supreme Court has reportedly given a ruling that gay sex is a criminal offense, a verdict which is being considered as a major setback for human rights in the world's biggest democracy.
The top court today overruled a Delhi High Court verdict from 2009 which decriminalized homosexuality by quashing a colonial-era law. The Supreme Court stated today Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code - which outlaws sex against the order of nature is constitutionally valid.
Any conviction carries a fine and a maximum of 10-year jail sentence. The 2009 ruling was based on a case brought by the Naz Foundation, an Indian sexual rights organization, which fought a legal battle for almost a decade.
Its members said today that they will seek a review of today's decision which would be heard by a panel of five judges. Although prosecutions under section 377 have been rare, gay activists say that the police used this law to harass and intimidate members of their community!