SC begins hearing on pleas to decriminalise homosexuality

The Supreme Court today made it clear that it would not venture into the issue of marriage relating to the LGBTQ community or inheritance in live-in relationships, as it commenced a crucial hearing on a clutch of pleas seeking decriminalisation of consensual gay sex.

The apex court said it would only deal with the question of validity of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises consensual sex between two adults of the same gender.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said it will examine the correctness of its 2013 verdict that had set aside the Delhi High Court judgement decriminalising gay sex under section 377.

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says 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 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

"The question here is whether Section 377 of the IPC is ultra vires (beyond one's legal power) or not. Let us get out of this maze. We cannot now give an advance ruling on questions like inheritance to live-in partners or whether they can marry.

"Those are individual issues we cannot pre-judge now," the bench, also comprising Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, said while outlining the broad issues which would be open for arguments.

The observations came when former Attorney General and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for dancer and one of the petitioners Navtej Jauhar, said, "My life as a sexual minority has to be protected. Do not restrict this hearing to just Section 377 of the IPC. Our lives are passing by. How many of us can come on individual issues later?"