A law known as Section 377 has been overturned by the Indian Supreme Court.
The court’s ruling reverses a 2013 decision that a colonial-era law, known as section 377, under which sex between two men is categorised as an “unnatural offence” would stay on the books.
According to the BBC, “It is one of the world’s oldest laws criminalising gay sex, and India has been reluctant to overturn it”
That is until now.
Speaking about the ruling, leading LGBT+ rights activist, Peter Tatchell said,
“This historic legal ruling sets free from criminalisation almost one fifth of the world’s LGBT+ people. It is the biggest, most impactful gay law reform in human history. I hope it will inspire and empower similar legal challenges in many of the 70 countries that still outlaw same-sex relations, 35 of which are member states of the Commonwealth.
“Ending the ban on homosexuality is just a start. There are still huge challenges to end the stigma, discrimination and hate crime that LGBTs suffer in India.
“Indian LGBTs now revert to the legal status of non-criminalisation that existed prior to the British colonisers imposing the homophobic section 377 of the criminal code in the nineteenth century.”
Read the full story on BBC.com
