National Human Rights Commission wants Section 377 modified

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) came out in support of the LGBT community on Friday, appealing the government for a “suitable modification” of the existing penal provision, saying all people regardless of their “sexual orientation or gender identity, should be able to enjoy their human rights”.

The Supreme Court this week overturned a Delhi High Court order decriminalising homosexuality when it upheld Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The section says that “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” is a criminal offence, punishable by upto life in prison.

The government should “urgently take all necessary legislative treatment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity so that no individual or a group of people is deprived of their human rights,” the commission said in a statement. Section 377 of the IPC should be suitably modified to achieve it, it added.