2009 - A Historic Ruling

In 2009, a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court holds that criminalizing consensual homosexual sex between adults is a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by India’s Constitution. This is also a violation of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 12: "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks." The judges presiding over the case stated,“We declare that Section 377 of the IPC, insofar as it criminalizes consensual sexual acts of adults in private, is violation of Articles 21 [Right to protection of Life and Personal Liberty], 14 [Right to Equality before Law], and 15 [Prohibition of discrimination on Grounds of Religion, Race, Caste, Sex or Place of Birth] of the Constitution." This is not to say that all of Section 377 was abolished. Parts of Section 377 will still be there to govern non-consensual penile non-vaginal sex and penile non-vaginal sex involving minor. This was a large step forward for LGBT rights. This was seen as the decriminalization of homosexuality for the first time since the 1800's.

This ruling was not without controversy, with some people upset. People believed that homosexuality is against their morals. There was a case created against the course ruling and the celebrations did not last long.

Sources: http://moodle.drury.edu/pluginfile.php/241297/mod_resource/content/1/Universal%20Declaration%20of%20Human%20Rights.pdf

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/Delhi-High-Court-strikes-down-Section-377-of-IPC/article16546323.ece