Apex Court declines stay on gay order

On Monday (July 20) afternoon, the Supreme Court of India passed an interim order declining to stay the order of the Delhi High Court dated July 2, 2009 on gay sex. Their Lordships thought that there was no need for granting a stay.

CJ: Chitranjan Sawant

Tue, Jul 21, 2009 15:53:02 IST

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Supreme Court News :

THE SUPREME Court of India passed an interim order on Monday (July 20) afternoon, declining to stay the order of the Delhi High Court dated July 2, 2009 on gay sex. The Supreme Court had the non-availability of opinion of the Government of India in mind. At their request time was granted for them to formulate their views on the subject and the court will hear the case on merit in Sept 2009.

The main reason for not granting a stay on the Delhi High Court order was : there will be no penal action owing to the said order. In the absence of any possibility of a penal action, Their Lordships thought that there was no need for granting a stay.

The bench comprising the Chief Justice of India and his brother judge also declined to accede to the request of the petioner-respondents that no additional parties to the case be allowed to make a submission before the Apex Court. Only those who were parties to the case in the high court may be allowed to plead or make a submission. Their Lordships said that since this case had an all-India bearing, additional parties, who had an interest in the case, may be allowed to make a submission before the Apex Court.

By and large, the LGHT (Lesbian, Gay, Hetrosexual and Transgender) had come prepared to celebrate the order of today, even before it was pronounced. Perhaps they had an inkling into it. On the last hearing, the Chief Justice of India had made an observation that in his long judicial career he had not come across even a single case where a person who had sex in private and were consenting adults, was punished under section 377 Indian Panel Code. In other words, the law existed but was of little use to the society.

In my opinion ,there have been no cases of punishment under that section because there were no complainant and no evidence either. Consenting adults do not prosecute each other.
In my opinion as a citizen, it does not mean that the law should be abolished. Sherlock Holmes,the ace detective of United Kingdom, was of the opinion that there were more cases of homicide in private chateaux, castles and fortresses in rural England than in London. However, the homicides went unpunished because the crime was committed in the privacy of a chateaux or a castle. No evidence was forthcoming. Nonetheless, it did not mean that the law declaring homicide a crime be taken off the statute book.

Come September, we will have more news from the Apex Court. Till then, au revoir.

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