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High Court ruling on private acts
ties India in knots
WSN Network
NEW DELHI: Within
hours of Delhi High Court decriminalising same sex relationships
between consenting adults after overturning a 149-year-old law
finding it unconstitutional and a hurdle in the fight against
HIV/AIDS, many religious domain leaders expressed fears about the
impact on younger generations, society and notions of relationships.
As India seemed to
be sharply divided on the issue, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan
Singh was quick to condemn the judgment and asked the Sikhs to stay
away from such ideas of a relationship. He even hinted at yet
another directive from the clergy in the coming days on the issue.
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Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh was quick to condemn
the judgment and asked the Sikhs to stay away from such ideas of
a relationship. He even hinted at yet another directive from the
clergy in the coming days on the issue. |
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Many sections in
the community held back their opinions saying the issue demanded a
more scientific approach and per se discrimination must not be there
but since sentivities are involved, it is better to first study the
impact of the court ruling instead of rushing to make statements.
Catholic church in
India has taken the line that it was not against decriminalisation
of Article 377's impact on homosexuals, and that it even accepted
them with compassion, but it cannot approve of such relationships.
The Delhi curt
acted on a public interest litigation filed in 2001 by Naz
Foundation, a non-profit organisation working for HIV/AIDS
prevention. The bench of Chief Justice AP Shah and S Muralidhar
declared unconstitutional a part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) that criminalised private ties. “As it stands, the
section denies a gay person a right to full personhood…” the bench
added in a 105-page judgment delivered in a jam-packed courtroom.
The court said its
judgment would hold till Parliament amended the law in tune with the
recommendations of the Law Commission in its 172nd report.
The NGO had argued
that fear of harassment and the hidden nature of gay groups led to
poor access to healthcare services.
8
July 2009
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