The Supreme Court Tuesday will begin hearing a clutch of petitions challenging Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises homosexuality. A five-judge Constitutional bench had refused to defer the hearing after the Centre sought more time to file its reply. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, comprises Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.
The Supreme Court Tuesday will begin hearing a clutch of petitions challenging Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises homosexuality. A five-judge Constitutional bench had refused to defer the hearing after the Centre sought more time to file its reply. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, comprises Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.
The Centre on Monday had requested the court to adjourn the hearing for four weeks during which it would file its reply to the petitions. The bench, however, refused and listed it for today.
Section 377 deals with “unnatural offences,” and holds “whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
In 2009, the Delhi High Court had decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults. The HC had stated that Section 377 was in violation of Articles 21, 14,and 15 of the Constitution. A two-judge bench observed, "As it stands, Section 377 denies a gay person a right to full personhood which is implicit in notion of life under Article 21 of the Constitution."
In 2012, this order was set aside by the Supreme Court, which found it "legally unsustainable". The apex court left it to Parliament to consider deleting the provision.
In August 2017, the SC, which was hearing a review petition, directed a larger Constitution bench to hear the case again. This hearing begins today.