Celebrations erupt as Supreme Court decriminalises consensual gay sex

In a historical verdict, the Supreme Court decriminalised gay sex between consenting adults. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

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A five-judge Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court Thursday, in four separate but concurring judgments, legalised same-sex relations between consenting adults. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

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A five-judge Constitutional bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, was hearing a clutch of petitions challenging Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

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Section 377 of the IPC, which stems from this belief, deals with “unnatural offences” and stated that “whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.” In Pic: Humsafar trust office in Mumbai where LGBT community members are supposed to meet up. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

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During the four-day hearing earlier this year, the Centre had said it would not contest the petitions, and left the decision to the “wisdom of the court”. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

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The verdict today comes on five petitions moved by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur. (Express photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

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Keshav Suri is an executive director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, which owns The Lalit hotel. Suri has been at the forefront of the movement to decriminalise gay sex and bring the larger LGBTQI community into the mainstream. Growing up in a Punjabi business family in Delhi, Suri came out as a gay man at 21. The support and encouragement of his family, by his own admission, is what has made him fearless and outspoken. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

READ LIVE UPDATES | SC decriminalises gay sex between consenting adults