Government's job to protect rights of gays: Harsh Vardhan

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Thursday said it was the government's job to protect the rights of gays.

"Everybody, including gays, have human rights. It is the job of the government to protect their rights," he told media persons on the sidelines of the release of the National Health Profile 2013 here.

The Supreme Court by its Dec 12, 2013 order and subsequently in the Jan 28 review petition upheld the validity of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, finding no constitutional infirmity in the penal provision that criminalised homosexuality.

It set aside the Delhi High Court verdict of July 2, 2009, which had read down section 377, thus decriminalising consensual sex between adults of the same gender.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which was then in the opposition, had supported the apex court judgement.

The Supreme Court is at present hearing a curative petition on the matter.