LGBT rights in India

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in India face legal and social difficulties not experienced by non-LGBT persons. Sexual activity between two persons of the same sex is criminalised, and is punishable by incarceration. India does, however, legally recognise Hijras as a gender separate from men or women, making the country one of the few in the world to legally recognise a third gender.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Homosexual intercourse was made a criminal offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. This made it an offence for a person to voluntarily have "carnal intercourse against the order of nature." In 2009, the Delhi High Court decision in Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi found Section 377 and other legal prohibitions against private, adult, consensual, and non-commercial same-sex conduct to be in direct violation of fundamental rights provided by the Indian Constitution.

According to a ruling by the Indian Supreme Court, decisions of a High Court on the constitutionality of a law apply throughout India, and not just to the territory of the state over which the High Court in question has jurisdiction.[clarification needed] However, even there have been incidents of harassment of homosexual groups.

On 23 February 2012, the Ministry of Home Affairs expressed its opposition to the decriminalisation of homosexual activity, stating that in India, homosexuality is seen as being immoral. The Central Government reversed its stand on 28 February 2012, asserting that there was no legal error in decriminalising homosexual activity. This resulted in two judges of the Supreme Court reprimanding the central government for frequently changing its stand on the issue. "Don't make a mockery of the system and don't waste the court's time," an apex court judge told the government.

On 11 December 2013, the Supreme Court set aside the 2009 Delhi High Court order decriminalising consensual homosexual activity within its jurisdiction. The bench of justices G. S. Singhvi and S. J. Mukhopadhaya however noted that parliament should debate and decide on the matter. The full decision can be found here.

On January 28, 2014 Supreme Court dismissed the review Petition filed by Central Government, NGO Naz Foundation and several others, against its December 11 verdict on Section 377 of IPC.[14] In explaining the ruling the bench said: "While reading down Section 377, the High Court overlooked that a minuscule fraction of the country’s population constitutes lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgender people, and in the more than 150 years past, less than 200 persons have been prosecuted for committing offence under Section 377, and this cannot be made a sound basis for declaring that Section ultra vires Articles 14, 15 and 21."

Human rights groups[which?] expressed worries that this would render homosexual couples vulnerable to police harassment, saying: "The Supreme Court's ruling is a disappointing setback to human dignity, and the basic rights to privacy and non-discrimination" The Naz Foundation (India) Trust stated that it would file a petition for review of the court's decision.

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