New Delhi, July 02: Homosexuality, which was a taboo and considered unnatural and a criminal act attracting maximum death penalty in the medieval period, has evolved over the years.
The first registered case of MSM (men having sex with men) goes back to 1290 in Felta and 1300 in the Britton in the United Kingdom where the offenders of sodomy were burnt alive.
The Delhi High Court, which legalised gay sex, dwelt on the history of legislation on homosexuality which for the first time was codified in 1533 by England under the Buggery (unnatural sex) Act.
The act of sodomy was then punishable under the Act death.
In 1563, Queen Elizabeth I re-enacted the law which was later turned into a charter followed in British colonies.
Oral-genital sexual acts were, however, later removed from the definition of Buggery (unnatural sexual acts) in 1817.
–PTI