New Delhi, July 09: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre on a petition challenging the Delhi High Court judgement legalising gay sex among the consenting adults.
The apex court posted the matter for hearing on July 20.
The Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said that any interim order against the High Court verdict, if necessary, will be considered only after hearing the parties concerned.
Now the government will have to make its stand clear on the Delhi HC verdict suggesting ‘decriminalising’ homosexuality between two consenting adults.
The High Court, in a landmark verdict, legalised gay sex among consenting adults.
The verdict had retained the penal provision for non consenting gay and homosexual acts involving minors.
Notices were also issued to Naz Foundation, the NGO and other respondents who were parties before the High Court.
The court was hearing the appeal filed by Suresh Kumar Kaushal, an astrologer, against the July 2 verdict of the High Court.
While mentioning the petition, the counsel, appearing for the astrologer, said that since the High Court verdict, there have been seven cases of gay marriages, and raised several questions, which, he claimed, were likely to affect the institution of marriage.
However, the Bench said, “We have not changed the definition of marriage.”
During the brief hearing, when the counsel was pointing to what he claimed was the adverse impact of the judgement decriminalising gay sex among the consenting adults, the Bench said the police had not been registering cases in such matters.
It said though the law has been in force since 1860, there have been only a handful cases under the penal provision except those of paedophile cases.
For “gay sex, to my knowledge, no body has been prosecuted,” the Bench, also comprising Justice P Sathasivam, said.
Kaushal is seeking quashing of July 2 verdict of the High Court legalising gay sex between consenting adults in private, which was earlier a criminal offence punishable with upto life imprisonment.
Kaushal is contending that homosexual acts, by all standard, an unnatural act and it could not be permitted.
“No one can imagine the consequences of the unnatural acts. Even animals don’t indulge in such activities,” Kaushal said in his petition.
He said the High Court judgement would result in spread of HIV virus as “it has been amply proved that the HIV virus is a result of unnatural sex.”
“We have to look at our own scriptures to seek guidance from them and it is against such behaviour in our society,” he said. “If such abnormality is permitted, then tomorrow people might seek permission for having sex with animals,” he said.
Apart from the petitioner in the case, many other prominent religious figures had also come in the open against the HC order. The Deoband and All India Muslim Personal Law Board are out in the open against any move to make gay sex legal.
Renowned yoga guru Baba Ramdev has also spoken against it. He is in fact expected to file a petition against the HC order.
–Agencies