The government is thinking to not oppose the recent Delhi high court (HC) judgment legalising sexual relations between consenting homosexual adults.
A three-member panel comprising law minister M Veerappa Moily, home minister P Chidambaram and health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad met on Tuesday to discuss the pros and cons of the HC judgment and felt that the order was compact and could not be easily challenged.
Sources said that the government is forming a view that the HC judgment was consistent with articles 14 (equality before law), 15 (prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth) and 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the constitution.
The ministers have to give an opinion based on the government's stand in the Supreme Court (SC) where the HC order has been challenged. The SC is hearing a PIL on the matter and has asked the government to present its stand by September 14.
But although — the sources said — the government does not want to oppose the HC order, it does not want to openly support it either for fear of an uproar from conservative sections of society. Hence, it would let the law (Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code) stay but amend it to allow homosexuality.
“We have analysed the judgement with full objectivity, what it has said and what not. Section 377 was not sought to be abrogated. It remains. The only matter is decriminalisation of private consensual sex between two adults,” said Moily after the meeting.
“There is a lot of misinformation about what the HC judgment had held. One example is that the judgment has struck down section 377, which is not correct,” said Chidambaram. “The HC judgment has laid down section 377 in a manner that it is consistent with articles 14, 15 and 21 of the constitution. After having analysed the judgment, we are placing it before the cabinet and will ask it to take a decision.”
The sources said that the three ministers are unwilling to take the flak for controversies regarding homosexuality, which is why they have decided to involve the entire cabinet for a final decision.
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