India’s Supreme Court accepts challenge to ruling on gay sex
The Indian Supreme Court has agreed to consider a petition against a lower court’s ruling that homosexuality should be decriminalised.
Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court ruled that the colonial-era law was unconstitutional.
The petition was filed by Sushil Kumar Kaushal, described as a “Hindu astrologer”. He argued that if gay sex is legalised, “tomorrow people might seek permission for having sex with animals”.
His petition also claimed that the judgement would result in a further spread of HIV/AIDS.
Kaushal’s lawyer Pravin Agarwal cited reports of seven gay marriages having taken place in India since the ruling.
The Supreme Court responded that the ruling had not mentioned marriage and referred only to sexual acts between consenting adults.
It will decide by July 20th whether to rule on the merits of the challenge.
Days after Kaushal’s challenge, a yoga guru filed a similar challenge saying homosexuality was a “disease” and could be cured by yoga.
According to the Indian Express, Swami Baba Ramdev said: “It can be treated like any other congenital defect. Such tendencies can be treated by yoga, pranayama (breathing exercises) and other meditation techniques.”
Ramdev is an influential figure among middle-class Hindu families, who regularly watch his health programmes on television. According to previous reports, he has made various claims as to the benefits of yoga, saying it can cure diseases such as AIDS, cancer and leukaemia.
