Non consensual sex between same gender adults will invite penal liability under Section 377 of the IPC, the Supreme Court said Thursday while striking down a part of it which criminalised gay sex.
The apex court also said that engaging in any kind of sexual activity with an animal would be a criminal offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.
Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A M Khanwilkar, who wrote the main 166-page judgement, said: "Section 377 IPC, so far as it penalizes any consensual sexual relationship between two adults, be it homosexuals (man and a man), heterosexuals (man and a woman) or lesbians (woman and a woman), cannot be regarded as constitutional.
"However, if anyone, by which we mean both a man and a woman, engages in any kind of sexual activity with an animal, the said aspect of Section 377 is constitutional and it shall remain a penal offence under Section 377 IPC."
It further said: "Any act of the description covered under Section 377 IPC done between two individuals without the consent of any one of them would invite penal liability under Section 377 IPC."
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