LGBT rights: SC likely to hear Section 377 curative petition today

Days after a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the Right to Privacy is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of India, the apex court today will hear curative pleas over the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises gay sex.

The curative petition has been filed by Naz Foundation and several gay rights activists challenging an SC judgment from 2013 upholding the validity of Section 377.

The SC had, in 2013, set aside a 2009 judgment of the Delhi High Court decriminalising homosexuality, saying it should have been left up to the Parliament to amend or repeal the law.

The fight against Section 377 got a major boost when a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, while upholding the right to privacy as a fundamental right intrinsic to life and liberty observed that the chilling effect of Section 377 “poses a grave danger to the unhindered fulfilment of one’s sexual orientation, as an element of privacy and dignity.”

The nine-member SC bench also observed: "Sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy. Discrimination against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation is deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of the individual". 

(With inputs from agencies)