SC to hear petition challenging 'criminalising' homosexuality today

The petitioners include the NGO Naz Foundation, working for the LGBT community

The Supreme Court today, in an open court sitting, will hear a curative petition filed by gay rights activists challenging its verdict "criminalising homosexuality" in the country.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India T S Thakur had earlier agreed to hear the curative petition against the apex court's December 2013 judgement upholding validity of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalises sexual activities against the order of nature, arguably including the homosexual acts, and a January 2014 order by which it had dismissed a bunch of review petitions.

The petitioners include the NGO Naz Foundation, working for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

The plea stated that the judgement was reserved on March 27, 2012, but a verdict was delivered after around 21 months; during this period lots of changes took place, including amendment in laws, which were not considered by the bench, which delivered the judgement.

The gay rights activists had said thousands from the LGBT community became open about their sexual identity during the past four years after the Delhi High Court "decriminalised" gay sex in 2009, and they were now facing the threat of being prosecuted.

Meanwhile, the Madras High Court on Monday observed that homosexuality could be a ground for divorce. The court's observation came while hearing two matrimonial discord cases involving a gay man in one and a lesbian woman in the other.