India decriminalizes homosexuality

Aftert seven months of hearings, The Delhi High Court has struck down a 150-year-old law making homosexuality illegal in India, according to a report today in Reuters.

“We declare that section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, in so far as it criminalizes consensual acts of others in private, runs counter to basic human rights guaranteed by articles of the Indian constitution," Chief Justice A.P. Shah said in a ruling.

Section 377, drafted by British rulers in 1860, has drawn criticism from public health activists as hindering the fight against HIV and AIDS. Parts of the law will continue to apply to forms of non-consensual sex.

The battle to repeal the law started in 2001, when The Naz Foundation filed a petition with The Delhi High Court, arguing that the law violated rights to privacy and equality guaranteed under the Indian constitution. The group said the law has been used to harass or blackmail gay men and women in return for money or sex.

India’s Home Ministry reflected conservative views among many of the nation’s politicians, arguing the ban on gay sex protected public health and morals, and that Indian society was not tolerant of homosexuality. However, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said new ministers could bring “new thinking” on the subject,

India’s National Aids Control Organization, a department that operates under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said section 377 obstructed its HIV/AIDS prevention program.