New Delhi, July 05: The view that the Delhi High Court judgment de-criminalising sex among consenting adults of the same sex is “reasonable and well-balanced” has gained ground in the Manmohan Singh government, which is unlikely to oppose the order in the Supreme Court.
The government feels that the judgment touched but on a small part of Article 377 when it decriminalised sex between two consenting adults of the same sex in private, and that the alarmist interpretation that the law itself has been upturned should not guide the Centre’s action.
There was no bone to pick with this as it was in keeping with the laws of most societies with stable democratic and judicial institutions, said a top government official.
To balance it, however, there is a view that the government may consider either amending the Section 377 or enacting a new law to signal its zero tolerance approach towards the abuse of minors and forced homosexual sex.
Section 377 does provide a deterrent, but the view is that the Centre may look at the option of making it tougher and unambiguous by making the description of offence more elaborate. This can allay misgivings and help the Centre explain its position to those who have opposed the court judgment.
Although a final call will be taken only after the ministry of law gives its opinion, Union home minister P Chidambaram on Friday seemed to question the drastic interpretation of the order by saying that the High Court applied itself to only one aspect of the Section 377. Chidambaram was speaking to the media after discussing the issue with his colleagues health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and law minister M Veerappa Moily.
Sources also spoke of the possibility of bringing a legislation in case the law ministry advises so, though this was not likely to happen in the current Budget session. The report of the law ministry, which has been sought by the ministers who met on Friday to consider the verdict, will be studied by the government and the Congress leadership before a bill is brought, possibly in the winter session. The government feels it can wait till then as it has no differences with the high court’s ruling on decriminalising homesexuality.
–Agencies