Guess you guys would be “busy” next few days and won’t be coming online
Gay sex ‘not criminal’ in India
**A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has ruled that homosexual intercourse between consenting adults is not a criminal act. **
The ruling overturns a 148-year-old colonial law which describes a same-sex relationship as an “unnatural offence”.
Homosexual acts were punishable by a 10-year prison sentence.
Many people in India regard same-sex relationships as illegitimate. Rights groups have long argued that the law contravened human rights.
Delhi’s High Court ruled that the law outlawing homosexual acts was discriminatory and a “violation of fundamental rights”.
The court said that a statute in Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which defines homosexual acts as “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and made them illegal, was an “antithesis of the right to equality”.
**‘India’s Stonewall’ **
The ruling is historic in a country where homosexuals face discrimination and persecution on a daily basis but it is likely to be challenged, says the BBC’s Soutik Biswas in Delhi.
It also promises to change the discourse on sexuality in a largely conservative country, where even talking about sex is largely a taboo, our correspondent says.
Gay rights activists all over the country welcomed the ruling and said it was “India’s Stonewall”.
New York’s Stonewall riot in 1969 is credited with launching the gay rights movement.
“It [the ruling] is India’s Stonewall. We are elated. I think what now happens is that a lot of our fundamental rights and civic rights which were denied to us can now be reclaimed by us,” activist and lawyer Aditya Bandopadhyay told the BBC.
“It is a fabulously written judgement, and it restores our faith in the judiciary,” he said.
But the decision was greeted with unease by other groups.
Father Dominic Emanuel of India’s Catholic Bishop Council said the church did not “approve” of homosexual behaviour.
“Our stand has always been very clear. The church has no serious objection to decriminalising homosexuality between consenting adults, the church has never considered homosexuals as criminals,” said Father Emanuel.
“But the church does not approve of this behaviour. It doesn’t consider it natural, ethical, or moral,” he said.
In 2004, the Indian government opposed a legal petition that sought to legalise homosexuality - a petition the high court in Delhi dismissed.
But rights groups and the Indian government’s HIV/Aids control body have demanded that homosexuality be legalised.
The National Aids Control Organisation (Naco) has said that infected people were being driven underground and efforts to curb the virus were being hampered.
According to one estimate, more than 8% of homosexual men in India were infected with HIV, compared to fewer than 1% in the general population.
^^^Sure, if you're gay, but is it really a great news? Btw, what is next legalizing gay marriages?
Im not gay.
Yes it is great news because the govt job is not to regulate relationships.
What is marriage? does "Marriage" refer to a civil union, or a "religious" marriage?
If we define marriage as the former then there should be no problem with gay marriages. If its the latter then gay couples should find a religion that supports their 'marriage'. But if it is the latter then only 1 religion should have the right to have claim on 'marriage' and that will never happen. Therefore marriage should be deemed a civil union.
As far as im concerned who ever im having sex with is my problem and not some bureaucrat in Canberra, Islamabad or New Delhi.
finally something positive out of india. sadly again from the courts. this should have been coming from the parliament. hopefully soon they will follow suit as well.
I refrain being sarcastic but it is going to be a good news for the Pakistan soon, the way we always so like to follow the footsteps of our neighbour brethren. We actually would have started preparing to, if Mush the great had still been throned.
