SC seeks Centre's response on PIL challenging gay sex

New Delhi, July 9 (PTI) The Supreme Court of India
Thursday sought a response from the Centre on an appeal
against the Delhi High Court judgement legalising gay sex
among consenting adults with the petitioner contending that
approving homosexual act would have adverse impact on the
institution of marriage.

The Bench did not grant any interim order on the
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying it will be passed
after knowing the stand of the Centre and others concerned
with the issue.

The apex court issued notice to the Centre on the
petition filed by an astrologer challenging the July two
verdict of the High Court but the advocate appearing for the
petitoner did not miss the opportunity to point out that the
first adverse impact of the judgement on the society have
started pouring in with the reports of seven cases of gay
marriages.

This submission was sufficient to evoke reactions from
a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan which said
the judgement did not speak about gay marriages.

"The judgement does not speak about the marriage and
only exclude such act (homosexual act among consenting adults
in private) from the purview of crime," the Bench, also
comprising Justice P Sathasivam, said.

The Bench said the High Court judgement has only dealt
with that part of the section 377 of the Indian Penal Code
(IPC) which has been rarely invoked.

"Police has not been registering the case (against
persons indulging in such behaviour with consent in private)",
the Bench said adding the legislation which has been there
since 1860 has been applied in only a handful of cases.

"For over 130 years, only in a handful of cases it has
been applied except those of paedophile cases," it said.

"For gay sex, to my knowledge, no body has been
prosecuted," the Chief Justice said.

More reactions were in store from the Bench when
advocate Pravin Agarawal, appearing for astrologer Suresh
Kumar Kaushal, said registration of such marriages should not
be allowed.

"We have not changed the definition of marriage," the
Bench said.

The Bench, which posted the matter for hearing on July
20, said the issues raised here will be considered after
knowing the stand of the government and reply of others
including the NGO, Naz Foundation, on whose petition the High
Court had delivered the verdict decriminalising the gay sex
among consenting adults.

Agarwal had submitted that the HC judgement would
affect the institution marriage as it will have the bearing on
inheritence and divorce.

The petition filed by Kaushal sought quashing of July 2
verdict of the High Court legalising gay sex between
consenting adults in private, which was earlier a criminal
offence punishable with upto life imprisonment.

The petition contended that homosexual acts, by all
standards, were "unnatural" and could not be permitted.

"No one can imagine the consequences of the unnatural
acts. Even animals don't indulge in such activities," he said
in his petition.

He said the High Court judgement would result in
spread of HIV virus as "it has been amply proven" that the
infection was contracted through such sexual acts.

"We have to look at our own scriptures to seek
guidance from them and they are against such behaviour in our
society. If such abnormality is permitted, then tomorrow
people might seek permission for having sex with animals," he
argued. PTI RKS
RAI
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