Indian court overturns gay sex ban

[Graeme]

Indian court overturns gay sex ban (article from the New York Times)

 

Congratulations to our Indian members -- homosexuality has been decriminalised! There's still a lot of effort required to reduce discrimination, as mentioned in the article, but this is a step in the right direction.

[Benji]

Indian court overturns gay sex ban (article from the New York Times)

 

Congratulations to our Indian members -- homosexuality has been decriminalised! There's still a lot of effort required to reduce discrimination, as mentioned in the article, but this is a step in the right direction.

 

...........You beat me to the punch on this article. I'm sure there are sighs of relief in India.

[Arpeggio]

Whoot!

 

Great news makes me happy.

[Nephylim]

Fantastic. I suppose that it's easy to take for granted what you have.

[Cynical Romantic]

Was just going to post this but you all beat me to it. Big day for India.

[Phantom]

I just saw that a few minutes ago and was gonna post it... dang Australians always ahead on things!!!

 

I'm really glad though... it's a good step forward. While it doesn't affect anything out of New Delhi, it's a good step forward for Gay Rights in India!

[Julian Alexander]

It's a start, now I hope it moves onto the rest of the country/state. Since it looks like this only affects New Dehli.

 

Edit: Ha, did not notice Phantom's post.

[Graeme]

I read through the comments on the NY Times article and some seem to indicate that it does NOT just affect New Dehli. Unless it's appealed to the Supreme Court, the ruling that it's unconstitutional will, I think, apply to the whole country. But it's not clear. I think we'll have to wait for one of the Indian members to weigh in as to the detail.

[hh5]

I read through the comments on the NY Times article and some seem to indicate that it does NOT just affect New Dehli. Unless it's appealed to the Supreme Court, the ruling that it's unconstitutional will, I think, apply to the whole country. But it's not clear. I think we'll have to wait for one of the Indian members to weigh in as to the detail.

 

sure but what did the native ones here think of it here??

(note: native to america)

 

I think from the example in "Little Big One" - the human being doesn't have a problem with the choice of another human being ...

just the savages that came to this land ...

 

Now how about the Aborigine???

[DragonFire]

It is very good news indeed. Welcome to the 21st century.

[Jack Frost]

I read through the comments on the NY Times article and some seem to indicate that it does NOT just affect New Dehli. Unless it's appealed to the Supreme Court, the ruling that it's unconstitutional will, I think, apply to the whole country. But it's not clear. I think we'll have to wait for one of the Indian members to weigh in as to the detail.

Considering that India still uses a similar legal system as Australia and the USA (the common law one), the ruling is probably only effective in New Delhi. The government will probably appeal to the Supreme Court, it could either... let the ruling stand, or agree and apply the ruling nationwide, or overrule the lower court.

[Graeme]

Considering that India still uses a similar legal system as Australia and the USA (the common law one), the ruling is probably only effective in New Delhi. The government will probably appeal to the Supreme Court, it could either... let the ruling stand, or agree and apply the ruling nationwide, or overrule the lower court.

I read something interesting (the story is on all the major newspaper sites I visit), that the High Court had originally rejected the appeal, but the Supreme Court told them to have another look. This is the outcome of that second look. So, if it goes to the Supreme Court, there is a significant probably that it will let the ruling stand.

 

However, one article says that the High Court has recommended that the Government make the appropriate changes to section 377, but the government is lukewarm on the idea. It is possible that, rather than change section 377, that the government will change the definition of 'equality' that was used in the courts decision, similar in concept to what proposition 8 did in California.

 

So many possibilities.... :wacko:

[pitchan]

Yesterday was a very happy day. It made me proud to be an Indian I broke into a little jig when I came back home and saw the news xDDD

Though watching the news channels made me feel a bit irritated, especially when they showed the various religious groups making statements against the ruling. The UPA government currently in their second term, had opposed decriminalizing gay sex throughout their first term, with the exception of the then Health Minister. Now the government at least seems to be willing to review Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

I don't have any idea if the ruling is in affect all over India or not, but it seems it might be in effect all over India until the time the government amends Section 377. This section, while not being used in the official capacity against gays, lesbians, and transgenders, had been used to harass and blackmail them. Right now its still can be used against pedophiles and those who were unwillingly forced to have sex.

It's very good news though. And I no longer have to listen to people tell me, gays are considered criminals by the state etc. God knows how many times I've had that used against me when I argued against homophobes in various Indian forums.

[BeaStKid]

Okay....so, I am late, but this does come as a great news. I wrote a lengthy piece on this on my external blog.

 

So, yes. This piece of legislation applies to the whole country. The Supreme Court, in a ruling in 2006, has given power to all High Courts to 'expand' their jurisdiction in cases pertaining to Parliamentary Laws. Since the IPC is a nation-wide law, it falls into this category.

 

Also, since the Supreme Court itself asked the Delhi High Court to look into the matter, it is understood that the legislation applies to the whole country. Lastly, as this is a first in its case, there is no precedence for such a ruling. Hence, it HAS to be applied to the whole country.

 

Section 377 still remains in the rule-books and it will continue to do so in the near future, judging by what the government is saying. It is only the interpretation of the law that has been changed....to not include consensual same-sex.

 

Hopefully, this is the start of something new and positive for the Indian Gay Community....

 

Ciao

BeaStKid

[Tiger]

It's about time! This had been an issue for quite some time. My understanding was that the punishment was life imprisonment. While the worst punishment (mostly in the Middle East), that was certainly a close second. Congratulations India! Welcome to the 21st century.

[BeaStKid]

You are right, Tim....The max punishment was life (10 years)...