GAY RIGHTS IN INDIA

The colours of freedom: "Discrimination is antithesis of equality….It is the recognition of equality which will foster dignity of every individual," reads the Delhi High Court judgment, a 105-page decision that is the first in India to directly guarantee rights for homosexuals. The historical verdict by the Delhi High Court came on July 1, 2009.

No longer a criminal: The Delhi High Court ruled that an existing statute prohibiting homosexual acts was discriminatory and therefore a "violation of fundamental rights" accorded under the constitution

Right to love: The historic decision by Delhi High Court on 1 July 2009 states that homosexual sex between consenting adults is not a criminal act, overturning a 149-year-old British colonial law, which described sex between members of the same gender as an "unnatural offence"

Celebrating the historical decision: Significantly toning down the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code this week, the Delhi High Court ruled that the law outlawing homosexual acts was discriminatory and a "violation of fundamental rights". This brings the total number of countries that criminalise homosexuality down to 84. The punishment for homosexuality varies in countries from imprisonment, fines, public humiliation and even death penalty.

A right much longed for: Going beyond decriminalising homosexuality, the Delhi High Court widened the ambit of Article 15 of the Constitution of India, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of sex, religion and caste. It has expanded the term sex to include sexual orientation, which means a person cannot be discriminated against on grounds of sexual preference. 

Not a crime anymore:Several organisations including the Naz Foundation, National AIDS Control Organisation, and many NGOs working for the rights of homosexuals have come out in support of decriminalising homosexuality in India and pushed for tolerance and social equality for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people.

Jolly and gay: Indian gay activists celebrated on the streets of Delhi and other parts of the country to express their joy and happiness over the overturning of the British colonial era ban on consensual sex between the adults of the same gender.