Bhushan backs Jaitley's views on Section 377

Arun Jaitley had said that the apex court should not have reversed the Delhi High Court order de-criminalizing consensual sex among homosexuals

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan on Sunday welcomed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's assertion that the Supreme Court should reconsider its decision upholding Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, saying the government can go ahead and delete the section instead of waiting for the apex court to review its judgement.

"I am glad that Mr. Jaitley for once is saying the right thing that (article) 377 today is an anathema to our liberalised recognision of the fact that there are 10% people in the world who are born gay. Therefore, you cannot criminalise them. So, it is unfortunate that the Supreme Court overturned the excellent judgement of the High Court holding 377 as unconstitutional," Bhushan told ANI.

"But it is easy for this government to delete 377. Why do they want to wait for the Supreme Court to review that judgement?" he added.

Speaking at the Times Lit Fest yesterday, Jaitley had said that the apex court should not have reversed the Delhi High Court order de-criminalizing consensual sex among homosexuals.

"When you have millions of people involved in this (homosexuality) you can't nudge them off," Jaitley said.

"The Supreme Court's 2014 verdict banning gay sex is not in accordance with the evolving legal jurisprudence and the court needs to reconsider it," he added.

In December 2013, the Supreme Court had overturned the Delhi High Court's July 2009 judgement, which had declared Section 377 as unconstitutional.

The apex court had stated that amending or revoking Section 377 should be a matter left to the Parliament and not the judiciary.

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalizes homosexual acts, stating it is 'against the order of nature'.