From: NewNowNext
A petition filed by a high-profile group of LGBT activists calling for the repeal of section 377 of India’s Penal Code, which criminalizes gay sex, was quashed by India’s Supreme Court yesterday.
The petition, which was backed by five LGBT celebrities, including acclaimed chef Ritu Dalmia and award-winning classical dancer Navtej Singh Johar, sought to overturn a 2013 ruling that revived a Colonial-era ban on gay sex. Among other things, the petition claimed that “the right to sexuality, sexual autonomy and freedom to choose a sexual partner forms the cornerstone of human dignity.”
When the group of activists brought this new legal challenge to the court, it was meant to give momentum to a curative petition that has been pending before a five-judge bench on the supreme court for months now. Like the aforementioned petition, it seeks to question the constitutionality of the antiquated anti-sodomy law.
When the most recent petition was originally brought to the court, judges had the choice to hear the petition as it was, tag the petition onto the curative one or dismiss the matter all together. Unfortunately for India’s LGBT community, the court decided to dismiss the petition.
Arvind Dattar, a lawyer for one of the petitioners, said “The supreme court refused to hear the matter and asked the petitioners to approach the chief justice of India.” Their rationale was that only parliament could make a decision on the inclusion of section 377 in the country’s penal code.
The news was met with frustration and sadness by members of India’s LGBT community who are viewing this as a major setback in their fight for equality. Though the court had previously decriminalized homosexuality nationwide in 2009, the reinstated ban on gay sex in 2013 all but put an end to the community’s visibility and inclusion in Indian society.
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