The bench comprises Justice SA Bobde and Justice Ashok Bhushan. On Wednesday, the apex court reopens after a 45-day holiday.
A group of prominent people from the LGBTIQ community have approached the Supreme Court to quash the colonial-era section 377 of the IPC, which criminalises homosexuality. The petition, which was filed by journalist Sunil Mehra, Bharatanatyam exponent Navtej Singh Johar, chef Ritu Dalmia, hotelier Aman Nath, and businesswoman executive Ayesha Kapur, will be taken up by on Wednesday.
The bench comprises Justice SA Bobde and Justice Ashok Bhushan. On Wednesday, the apex court reopens after a 45-day holiday. The 716-page petition has been filed by several lawyers, including Arundhati Katju, Himanshu Suman, Menaka Guruswamy and Saurabh Kripal.
"Sexuality lies at the core of a human being's persona. Sexual expression, in whatever form, between consenting adults in the privacy of a home ought to receive the protection of Fundamental Rights. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code infringes the Petitioners' right to sexuality, and also has a cascading effect of barring the Petitioners from accessing the unenumerated rights which this Hon'ble Court has held flow from Article 21 of the Constitution of India," argues the petition.
In 2009, the Delhi High Court had ruled that section 377 is unconstitutional. However, in 2013, a Supreme Court bench comprising justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya overruled the Delhi HC decision, saying that making laws is the prerogative of the Parliament and not the Supreme Court.
In 2015, when Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor strived to introduce a private member's bill to the Parliament, he was not supported by his fellow MPs. The SC, in February this year, directed a curative petition filed by the NGO, Naz Foundation, to a five-member bench.
Tharoor, who is sure that he will introduce the bill again, said that section 377 is an embarrassment. "I had introduced the bill as a member of the parliament, to defend the constitutional freedoms. The petitioners, in this case, are directly affected by the colonial legislation," he said. "Internationally, the law is a disgrace, and we must alter it or read it down to safeguard the basic human rights of the LGBTIQ community."
Filmmaker Onir, said that the December 2013 SC decision was a huge blow. "The notion of democracy was shaken that day when the SC went back on the Delhi HC decision. It was disempowering, and disheartening; there's not other viewpoint in this issue -- section 377 must go," he said.
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