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Three years ago, in 2013, the community tasted disappointment after the apex court overturned Delhi High Court order that decriminalized the Section saying scrapping laws was the Parliament's call.
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Updated : Dec 21, 2018, 05:15 AM IST
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September 6 was a day of reckoning for the country: A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court sanctioned full sexual freedom between consenting adults either of the same sex or with and between transgenders. Never before was this right available to India's sizeable population of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexuals and Transgender (LGBT) community.
The judgment ended the community's persecution and restored the right to privacy to consenting adults by decriminalising Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalized same-sex union as unnatural sex. Though the section still remains on the statute book, it only covers acts of bestiality (man with animals) and (forced) sodomy.
The verdict sounded victory for five petitioners who pursued the case since 2016. Three years ago, in 2013, the community tasted disappointment after the apex court overturned Delhi High Court order that decriminalized the Section saying scrapping laws was the Parliament's call.
Celebrated classical dancer Navtej Singh Johar, journalist Sunil Mehra, businesswomen Ritu Dalmia and Ayesha Kapur and hotelier-cum-author Aman Nath petitioned the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling.
While passing the order, the then Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, said, "Respect for each others' rights is supreme humanity. Criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible."
The striking comment of the day came from Justice Indu Malhotra, who said, "History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries. The members of this community were compelled to live a life full of fear of reprisal and persecution. This was on account of the ignorance of the majority to recognise that homosexuality is a completely natural condition, part of a range of human sexuality."
Declaring the 2013 verdict a mistake, the Court saw the opportunity as a chance to set things right and put a rainbow smile on the faces of countless citizens.
