Sex between same gender adults without consent a crime under section 377, says SC

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."