Section 377 debate: Govt wont take stand on homosexuality

The Central Government has decided not to take a stand on the controversial 2009 Delhi High Court verdict decriminalising homosexuality.

The Cabinet has decided that the government will not file an appeal against the judgment to the Supreme Court. Ministry of Home Affairs conveyed this decision to the Attorney General.

However, if any other party to the case prefers an appeal, the Attorney General will assist the Supreme Court to examine the matter and to decide the legal questions involved, MHA said in a statement on Thursday.

The MHA's statement came right after a goof-up by additional solicitor general PP Malhotra who argued that homosexuality was "against nature" and must be made a crime.

Malhotra told a bench of justice GS Singhvi and justice SJ Mukhopadhyay that gay sex was "highly immoral and went against social order". There is high chance of spreading of diseases through such acts, he said.

"Our Constitution is different and our moral and social values are also different from other countries, so we cannot follow them," the PTI quoted him saying.

The law officer's statement drew criticism from different corners, even from the Supreme Court which has set Feb. 28 for its next hearing.

Embarrassed by its own lack of clarity, the government subsequently came out with a statement asserting that it had decided not to take a stand on the issue.

On July 2nd, 2009, the Delhi high court decriminalised gay sex by amending Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that called homosexuality and unnatural sex a criminal act.

That ruling followed a public interest litigation filed by NGO Naz Foundation along with the activist group Voices Against 377.

Several religious groups have challenged the order, arguing that it would create "sexual anarchy" in the society.