The continued existence on the statute book of Section 377, the provision of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises “unnatural” sex, is an anachronism in a country that prides itself for its democratic credentials. When explaining its disappointing 2013 decision to overturn the Delhi High Court’s judgment on decriminalising homosexuality, the Supreme Court held that it was for Parliament to amend the offending section, not the judiciary. In the two years since, an array of leaders across the political divide — including the Congress’s Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, and
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley — have supported abolishing at least parts of the 1861 law. Yet nothing happened. Now, with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor set to introduce a private member’s bill in Parliament to decriminalise sexual intercourse between consenting adults, irrespective of gender or orientation, parties have another opportunity to right a wrong.
The courts have routinely stepped in to expand rights in areas where legislators have feared to tread. Will lawmakers this time display the political courage to protect their most vulnerable constituents?
