Constitution Bench of Supreme Court to announce the final verdict on the validity of Section 377 on Thursday.
The final decision on decriminalizing Section 377 will be taken by the Supreme Court on Thursday. They will take a final call on whether criminalizing consensual gay sex is valid or not.
On August 24, 2017, the Supreme Court had announced Right to Privacy as a fundamental right. And, that the rights of the LGBT community are real and profound and should be protected.
Later in 2009, Delhi High Court had decriminalized Section 377 which was again overturned by Supreme Court in 2013 also dismissing a reviewed plea in this case. The Supreme Court then restored the criminality of sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex.
The first petition against Section 377 was filed back in 1994 by the AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan. When that failed, the Naaz Foundation approached the Delhi High Court in 2001. And since then, the journey has been long and is continued.
Yet again, a final decision of the Supreme Court is pending which will decide whether the Indian penal code defining the rights of the LGBT community is valid in literal meanings or not.
Many hearings in Supreme Court regarding this case have been conducted and the citizens now wait for the ultimate decision by the Court.
What is Section 377?
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code dated back in 1861 introduced during the British rule of India criminalized sexual activities “against the order of nature”, including homosexual activities.
According to this law, ‘anyone who voluntarily has a carnal intercourse with any other person going against the law of nature is an offense and hence shall be liable to imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of description of a term which might extend upto10 years, also will have to give penalty for such commitment.