Indian Government to wait for Supreme Court decision over anti-gay law
India will take no decision on amending a law banning same-sex sexual activity until the Supreme Court rules, a government minister says.
A curative petition by the Indian Government, requiring a five-judge panel of the Supreme Court to intervene in the appeal of Section 377 is still pending.
Section 377 bans “sex against the order of nature”, which is widely interpreted to mean same-sex sexual activity.
The penalty stipulates 10 years in jail. Prosecutions are rare but not unknown.
On Tuesday, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju told MPs that the government would be waiting for the court to issue a response.
“The matter is subjudiced before the Supreme Court. A decision regarding Section 377 of IPC can be taken only after pronouncement of judgment by the Supreme Court,” Mr Rijiju said in a statement.
In December last year, the court overturned a previous High Court judgment that said Section 377 of India’s penal code was unconstitutional.
The decision caused outrage among LGBT activists and many of the county’s politicians.
Previous attempts by campaigners to reverse the Supreme Court ruling have so far failed.
Seven men were arrested under suspicion of breaking Section 377 in Bangalore last month.
