Govt sets ball rolling on repeal of gay sex law
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While the challenge mounted by individuals and NGOs to the Delhi High Court judgment decriminalising gay sex is still pending in the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has quietly set in motion a move to take same-gender sex out of criminal jurisprudence.
A communication from the MHA to the Ministry of Law and Justice, sent earlier this week, asks the latter to prepare a draft of an amendment Bill to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the most striking feature of which is that Section 377 would no longer deal with the offence involving voluntary "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" between consenting adults of the same gender.
Sources in the Law Ministry told The Sunday Express that the MHA proposal with regard to amendment to Section 377 talks only of "carnal intercourse with animals".
The proposed amended Section 377 reads: "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse with animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment or either description for a term which may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to fine".
Senior officers of the MHA refused to either confirm or deny the move, maintaining the matter was sub-judice.
It is, however, learnt that the MHA plans to circulate the proposed amendment among state governments for their comments but at the same time await the final decision of the Supreme Court in the matter.
While the Centre has already indicated to the court that it is not averse to the idea of decriminalising gay sex among consenting adults, the latest move is the first concrete evidence of a change of thinking within the government on the contentious issue which had divided the previous
government.
Sources also said that while the MHA wants to decriminalise gay sex, it could have given in to the strong demand of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) and the National Commission for Women (NCW) to keep rape gender-specific.
... contd.
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