Two significant political voices have sidestepped the party line to speak out against the regressive politics of their organisations. The Congress’s P. Chidambaram has declared that it was wrong of the Rajiv Gandhi government to ban The Satanic Verses 27 years ago, and the BJP’s Arun Jaitley has said that the Supreme Court has taken a “conservative view” on Section 377 of the IPC, which is 50 years out of date. Both used the somewhat neutral ground of a literary festival to make these observations. While they are to be congratulated for speaking in a human voice, which is almost inaudible in the polarised cacophony that all too often commandeers the political discourse, they may equally be called to account for failing to take action in the past — despite ample opportunity.
Indeed, Jaitley still enjoys the opportunity, and can urge his government to do the court’s bidding. In December 2013, the SC had overruled the Delhi High Court, which had found some provisions of Section 377 unconstitutional and in breach of fundamental rights. In January 2014, the courts dismissed review petitions filed by the UPA government and Naz Foundation, the original plaintiff in the matter. It stood by its prior opinion that Section 377 is to be addressed by legislatures, not the judiciary. The UPA may not have had the time to follow up, as parties began to gear up for elections shortly thereafter, but the NDA government that succeeded it could have legislated Section 377 off the statute books — a project that, by all accounts, would have enjoyed support across party lines.
