Posted on 03/05/2009 2:07:30 PM PST by MyTwoCopperCoins
MUMBAI: A sessions court at Fort has been busy hearing an unusual matter— a wealthy businessman and a sailor with the merchant navy have had to plead for protection from arrest after the wife of the former alleged that the duo was in a homosexual relationship. The Gamdevi police even registered a case under Section 377 of the IPC—the law that criminalises homosexual relations—against the two.
Ratan Shrivastav, 39, a resident of Peddar Road, and his wife Pooja, 37, got married in 1994 and have an eight-year-old son. Pooja, however, alleges that Ratan "kept having relationships with several men" which was "hampering her married life". She also said that she had often sent Ratan to a counsellor but that did not improve their marital relations. The complaint also says that there are CDs in which Ratan can be seen in a compromising position with other men.
In his anticipatory bail plea, Ratan did not deny that he was gay. He said he first went to the cops in January when he was told that a non-cognisable complaint had been registered against him for slapping Pooja.
Mum unaware of son’s homosexual relations
Peddar Road businessman Ratan Shrivastav and his sailor friend moved the court for anticipatory bail after Ratan’s wife lodged a non-cognisable complaint against them at Gamdevi police station. Thereafter, a police constable even came to his residence on February 9 and asked his mother whether Ratan was a homosexual.
His mother replied that it was his personal matter and she had no knowledge of it.
Ratan moved court on February 27 when he realised that on a specific complaint by Pooja the police had registered a case under Section 377 against him and his alleged partner, Damien Christopher, 28, the sailor. Ratan feared that he was going to be arrested for custodial interrogation since homosexuality remains a cognizable offence under Indian law. He thus rushed to court for protection and the same day was granted interim anticipatory bail till March 7.
On Thursday, the court heard the anticipatory bail plea of Christopher. Judge D U Malla wondered whether there was any need for custody in such matters. He observed that there was no evidence that Pooja had been harassed or whether police needed to collect any material evidence. The court granted anticipatory bail to Christopher. Ratan’s own plea will come up for hearing again on Saturday.
(Names have been changed to protect the identities of the parties involved)
Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Convictions are extremely rare, and in the last twenty years there have been no convictions for homosexual relations in India. However, Human Rights Watch argue that the law has been used to harass HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, as well as sex workers, men who have sex with men, and other groups at risk of the disease.
On November 7, 2008, the seven-year-old petition to disallow the law that makes “unnatural” sex a criminal offence finished hearings. The Indian Health Ministry supported this petition, while the Indian Home Ministry opposed such a move.
I take back every good thing I ever said about post-socialism Inda. Don’t they know that same-sex cheating isn’t a sin?
LOL!
“as well as sex workers”
why stop there? If we’re talking euphemisms for “whore”, why not move on to “ejaculative engineers”?!
they are very lucky to have it the way they do. it’s totally illegal, but rarely prosecuted, so they get them out of the culture. no “two mommies” books for them. no teaching kindergarteners “the joys of homo sodomy” for them.
they are so lucky.
More government interfering with people’s personal affairs. Next thing you know they’ll criminalize anyone who doesn’t believe in Vishnu. And after that they’ll ban interracial marriage.
Liberal idiots.
A sin and a crime are different things. Working on the sabbath is the former, it doesn’t mean you should be sent to jail for it.
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