SC seeks India’s HIV+ population,number of gays among them

The bench expressed unhappiness that the government had only a vague picture about the actual number of HIV-infected persons.

A note presented by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO),a department under the health ministry,had reached the “unlikely” conclusion that the number of people infected by HIV in 2009 and 2010 were exactly the same: 23.9 lakh.

“How can identical number of people get HIV in two consecutive years? You should have done your homework before coming to the court,” the bench told Additional Solicitor General Mohan Jain,who represents the central government.

The authenticity of the government data faced further challenge when an anti-gay activist pointed out that the 73rd parliamentary committee report from the HRD ministry showed the total population of HIV-infected persons as 8.13 million,while NACO showed a far fewer number.

“There is a contradiction here,” the bench told the government counsel.

Asked about the mechanism of funding NGOs working with HIV positive people,Jain said NACO only allocated aid to state AIDS control societies,who distributed the money to NGOs. “It (distribution of funds) is completely controlled by the state principal secretaries,” the ASG said.

“So how many in Delhi are infected with HIV? How much you are providing for state governments. Submit proper chart and figures,” the court responded.

The court asked the government to explain its criteria for profiling categories like migrants and truckers as “high risk groups”,and the source of the information on the basis of which it considered them “high risk”.

The court is hearing petitions by anti-gay rights activists,political,social and religious outfits,which have appealed against a July 2009 Delhi High Court verdict decriminalising homosexuality.