Religious leaders criticise ruling on gay sex

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Religious leaders criticise ruling on gay sex

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Even as gay rights activists celebrated the Delhi High

Court verdict Thursday that gay sex was not a crime, religious leaders

criticised the rulling as an attempt " to impose Western culture on Indian

society " and said homosexuality went against " the will of god " .

" This is a sad day for civilised society. It (the ruling) is not acceptable.

They are playing with the future generations and civilised society, " said All

India Muslim Personal Law Board's Kamal Farooqi.

" Scrapping such a law is not justified. This is an attempt to impose Western

culture on Indian society, " Maulana Abdul Khaleeq Madrasi, pro-vice chancellor

of Darul Uloom - India's biggest Islamic seminary - told IANS on phone.

In a historic judgment, the Delhi High Court de-criminalised homosexuality by

striking down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It said that any sex

between consenting adults should be legalised.

A bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar said that

if not amended, the section 377 would violate Article 21 of the Indian

constitution, which states that every citizen has equal opportunity of life and

is equal before law.

Section 377, a relic of the British Raj, relates to " unnatural offences " and

says that " whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of

nature with any man, woman or animal should be punished " .

Religious heads were both shocked and angered by the judgement.

Gyani Gurbachan Singh, head priest of the Akal Takth - the highest temporal seat

of the Sikh community - said: " We strongly oppose this high court decision. It

is against the laws of the nature. We appeal to the Indian government to rethink

the issue. We also appeal to the Sikh community to boycott this verdict as it is

against the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib. "

Ganesh Tripathi, a senior priest of Delhi Arya Samaj Mandir, said: " The Arya

Samaj can never accept this. This cannot be applied to Hindu society or our

beliefs. "

" Homosexual acts go against nature. This (judgement) is wrong and just because a

small section of society wanted this, the court has overlooked the majority's

views, " he added.

" We have no objection or opposition to de-criminalisation of homosexuality

because we never considered them criminals. However, we are also clear that we

are against legalising it...because what they do is unnatural and against the

design and will of God, " said Father Dominic Emmanuel.

An outraged Shahi Imam Ahmad Bukhari of the Jama Masjid told IANS: " This is such

a dirty issue. I have decided that I will not even speak about it because if I

do, it will be an insult to me and our belief. The government cannot dare to

make this legal - when they do, we will react and talk then. "

Kerala Catholic Church to oppose legalizing of gay sex

Thiruvananthapuram, July 2 (IANS) The Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference (KCBC)

Thursday said it will oppose legalization of gay sex after the Delhi High Court

struck down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that termed homosexuality

a criminal act.

KCBC spokesperson Father Alathara said: " This (homosexuality) is against

the Indian culture. We will oppose it and since our country is a democratic one,

there is no way that this can be legalised through legislation. The church's

views will have to be sought. "

The Delhi High Court Thursday struck down section 377. The judgement means that

police will no longer be able to intrude upon or arrest adult homosexuals having

consensual sex.

S.K. Harikumar, senior national consultant in behaviour and sexual health, told

IANS: " What many fail to understand is that the prevalence of HIV among MSMs

(male having sex with male) is very high and hence medical interventions have to

be made. Once this becomes legalised, then intervention can become easy. "

Harikumar, who has worked extensively among gays in the state, estimates that

there are more than 45,000 homosexuals in Kerala.

" Today the view on homosexuality is that it is not just a sexual act, but one

which is emotionally satisfying. With this (judgement) homosexuals can come out

in the open without the fear of being harassed, " he added.

Gay sex legal, says Delhi High Court

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Thursday decriminalised gay sex by

striking down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), quoting Jawaharlal

Nehru to emphasise that the Constitution guaranteed homosexuals rights equal to

what other citizens enjoy.

A bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar said that

if not amended, section 377 of the IPC would violate Article 21 of the Indian

Constitution, which states that every citizen has equal opportunity of life and

is equal before law.

" Equality and inconclusiveness are the tenets of the Constitution, " the court

quoted India's first prime minister Nehru as having said.

Section 377, a law from the British Raj era, says homosexuality and " unnatural

sex " is a criminal act.

Giving its landmark judgement, the high court said that section 377 should be

amended and any sex between consenting adults should be legalised.

In plain terms, what this judgement means is that police will no longer be able

to intrude upon or arrest adult homosexuals having consensual sex.

Advocate Tripti of the Naz foundation, which had filed the petition, said: " It

is very clear now that sex between consenting adults would no longer be an

offence. "

Anjali Gopalan of the Naz Foundation added: " We had asked that section 377 be

read down. This, however, does not hold good for minors below the age of 18.

Also, the fact the adults have to be consenting is important. "

In 2004, the high court had dismissed the same petition, saying that it was an

academic challenge to the constitutionality of a legislative provision which

could not be entertained.

Verdict decriminalising gay sex welcome: AIDS control body

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) Thursday

hailed the Delhi High Court judgment that decriminalises gay sex, saying it

would help reach out to the community and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

" It is a positive judgment. Decriminalising this high-risk group has made our

job easier as we will be able to reach them. This will help the public health

system, " K. Sujatha Rao, NACO director general and additional secretary in the

health ministry, told IANS.

The high court struck down the Indian Penal Code's (IPC) controversial section

377, a law from the British Raj era, that says homosexuality and " unnatural sex "

is a criminal act.

Rao said: " This (judgement) will help us access and prevent HIV/AIDS. HIV has no

cure and it could be prevented through a condom. "

" Now, we will have more access to them, which was difficult earlier as the law

made it difficult for us to work with sex workers and gays. They were the hidden

population and we could not reach them as the law was not favouring them. "

NACO is the apex government body to monitor and check HIV/AIDS in India. The

2008-09 budget of NACO is over Rs.1100 crore, of which 67 percent is for

prevention and 17 percent for care, support and treatment.

According to estimates revised in 2007, India has an approximate 2.5 million

people living with HIV. According to NACO, there are 2.35 million men having sex

with men (MSM) in the country.

On Thursday, a bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S.

Muralidhar said that if not amended, section 377 of the IPC would violate

Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which states that every citizen has equal

opportunity of life and is equal before law.

Gays are considered to be among the high-risk group that is considered

vulnerable to the spread of HIV/AIDS in India. Apart from them, the other groups

are sex workers, truck drivers and injecting drug users (IDUs).

" Our plea has always been for decriminalising this high-risk group. We are happy

that our plea was considered by the court. It would make the public health

programmes more successful, " Rao told IANS over phone from Hyderabad.

She said that India has been committed to universal access for halting and

reversing the spread of HIV. " This would enable us to achieve that goal, " she

added.

Rainbow colours fly as gay community celebrates verdict

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) " Proud! " screamed the status message of Manas Malhotra,

a gay rights activist, minutes after the Delhi High Court gave its historic

judgment of decriminalising homosexuality Thursday.

" Yay! I can't believe this is actually happening. We were all prepared to hear

the worst-and this..this has not yet sunk in, " Malhotra told IANS, his voice

breaking.

Reading down the archaic section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which says

that homosexuality and " unnatural sex " are criminal acts, a bench of Chief

Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar said that if not amended,

section 377 would violate Article 21 of the Indian constitution, which states

that every citizen has equal opportunity of life and is equal before law.

In plain terms, what this judgement means is that police will no longer be able

to intrude or pick up people - adults to be specific - having consensual sex.

Malhotra, who was one of the organisers of the gay pride march in Delhi last

year and this year, said that he was up through most of the night, keeping his

fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

" You know all these years I have been given that strange look and have been made

to feel like a criminal- for what, for living my life by my terms? Today's

verdict has been absolutely heart warming, especially when the court said for

the first time that it is our fundamental right to live the way we want, " he

said.

As the historic judgment was announced, the premises of the Delhi High Court

were washed with rainbow colours, as members of the gay community- all dressed

in colourful attire, their faces painted or wearing masks- rejoiced, waving

posters like " Queer and proud " and " Legal homosexual " .

One poster read: " Accept, appreciate differences. " Yet another said proudly: " I

am the pink sheep of the family. "

Raman, another gay rights activist said: " This is surely a good beginning. This

has been a fight for equal rights and today's decision is a ray of hope " .

Just four days ago, the capital saw the second edition of the gay pride march in

which hundreds of people from the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender

community took to the roads demanding repeal of section 377 through slogans,

colourful posters, songs and dance.

An overwhelmed Anjali Gopalan of the Naz Foundation, the voluntary organisation,

that filed the petition in the High Court said: " I still can't believe this is

actually happening. It is definitely very progressive and I have to say, our

faith in the judiciary has just been renewed to 100 percent " .

" What is heartening is that the court quoted Nehru who stressed so much on

equality and inclusiveness. I just feel so proud to be an Indian, " she beamed.

Indira Jai Singh, a senior lawyer added: " Adults cannot be denied this right as

it would be against their fundamental right of equality " .

The community is now all set to celebrate in a big way. On Thursday afternoon

the community plans to take on the roads near Jantar Mantar to rejoice the

verdict.

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