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ShareNew Delhi: The Delhi High Court, which legalised homosexual acts among consenting adults, today gave wider interpretation to a constitutional provision and extended its ambit by treating the term 'sexual orientation' as analogous and on a par with 'sex'.
Article 15 of the Constitution prescribes that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth.
"Sexual orientation is a ground analogous to sex and that discrimination is not permitted by Article 15," the Bench of chief justice AP Shah and justice S Muralidhar said in its 105-page verdict.
The court treated the term 'homosexuals' at par with the term 'sex' to extend the benefits of the fundamental right under Article 15 to the homosexual community.
"Article 15 must be read expansively to include a prohibition of discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation as the prohibited ground of sex discrimination cannot be read as applying to gender simpliciter," the bench said.
The court said discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation is impermissible.
The court was of the view that section 377 of the IPC targeted homosexuals as a class which was subject to persecution and marginalisation.
"When everything associated with homosexuality is treated as bent, queer, repugnant, the whole gay and lesbian community is marked with deviances and perversity. They are subject to extensive prejudice because of what they are or what they are perceived to be, not because of what they do," the court, quoting from a previous judgement, said.
"The purpose underlying the fundamental right against sex discrimination is to prevent behaviour that treats people differently for reason of not being in conformity with generalisation concerning normal or natural gender roles," it said.
