Posted on 11/03/2004 9:33:36 AM PST by CarrotAndStick
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking review of its order rejecting a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which makes all kinds of unnatural sex, including homosexuality, a punishable offence.
"The review petition cannot be entertained", a division bench of Chief Justice B C Patel and Justice B D Ahmed said dismissing the petition filed by Naz Foundation.
Earlier, senior counsel Anil B Divan pointed out on behalf of the NGO that the court had errred in dismissing the petition as it failed to take into account recent judgements of the Supreme Court on the question of locus standi.
Divan also submitted that the law on homosexuality has drastically changed in various parts of the world, including the US and the European Union countries.
"Whatever is available in the US cannot be made available in India also", the court observed.
The Bench had on September 2 last dismissed the petition filed by Naz Foundation on the ground that there was no cause of action for the petitioner to approach the Court.
"A petition cannot be filed just for testing the validity of a legislation," the Bench had said.
The NGO, which works for AIDS awareness, had filed the PIL in 2001, seeking to declare section 377, IPC as violative of right to equality (Article 14), right to freedom (Article 19) and right to life and liberty (Article 21) of the Constitution.
The Centre had opposed the petition saying homosexuality cannot be legalised in India as the society disapproves of such behaviour.
"Law does not run separately from the society. It only reflects the perception of the society. Public tolerance of different activities change and the legal categories get influenced by these changes.
"The public, notably in UK and US have shown tolerance of new sexual behaviour or sexual preference, but it is not universally accepted behaviour. Objectively, speaking, there is no such tolerance to the practice of homosexuality/ lesbianism in Indian society," the Centre had stated.
However, the NGO felt that the Court should have taken into account the grave threat to public health by proliferation of HIV as Section 377 was leading to marginalisation of homosexual minority and preventing them from coming in the open for help.
PIL stands for Public Interest Litigation
india is screwed up.
I guess we know where Kerry/Edwards will NOT be going on vacation.
>>all kinds of unnatural sex, including homosexuality, a punishable offence>>
It's no secret that gays are unnatural. Duh. But by what authority do they back up this law? Isn't India Muslim?
India is not Muslim.
Hindu.
Secular. No official religion. Freedom to practice any of your choosing.
Yes they are, because they are outrageously racist, classist and sexist... but if they are against homosexuality at least they got one thing right..
you can be against homosexuality but punishing it is taking it too far.
Same with abortion and drugs too?
I mean, as far as I am concerned, homosexuality is two lives lost in a fruitless endeavour.
comparing abortion to homosexuality is comparing apples to oranges. in abortion you are killing a human life. theres is nothing more disgusting about this society than that. i cant believe we allow ourselves to murder innocent infants and should be punished to the fullest extent.
homosexuality is immoral but shouldn't be punished by a society. are you gonna start locking up people who commit adultery too?
"Whatever is available in the US cannot be made available in India also", the court observed."
Sandra Day O'Connor and her friend Ginzburg should take note of that.
The basis for Section 377 of the IPC is the anti-sodomy act that the British introduced in 1860.It has rarely been modified & is concerned with any "open" sexual activity between men(& not women)-the word open here is well left for interpretation.It could very well be 2 guys doing it on the road or the police stumbling on them somewhere getting laid.The fact of the matter is very few people have been prosecuted using this law.The issue here is not punishing people for being homosexual ,it is only that they don't have right to flaunt it around .If the price for maintaining sanity in Indian society is to punish open expression of homosexuality,being an Indian,im all for it.None of the religious communities in India are in favour of it.
India has over 800 million Hindus,138 million Muslims & 25 million Christians & I don't know what the sexist & racist came from.The Head of State ,the president is a Muslim,the Head of Government ,the PM is a Sikh & the leader of the largest party in parliament is a Catholic lady & many Christians & Muslims have risen to command India's armed services & distinction in other spheres.
Exactly. And that's why I included drugs in that list. Many drugs don't kill...yet they need to be banned. So also homosexuality.
Abortion kills a human life,homosexuality slowly kills the soul of human society.Don't tell me that there is no link whatsoever between the greater openness bout homosexuality in the US /Western Europe & the big increase in divorce rates/family breakups/spousal abuse/child abuse over the past 25 yrs???
Oh, so you mean like the U.S.? /sarcasm
Just as the US is a "secular" country predominantly Judeo-Christian in ethics and law, India is a predominantly Hindu country with some trappings of the British parliamentary system.
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