Section 377
Name: Pankhuri Malhotra 22.09.14BA LLB 2014 Section D My love is right, your love is wrong
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“If there is one constitutional tenet that can be said to be underlying theme of the Indian Constitution, it is that of ‘inclusiveness’. This Court believes that Indian Constitution reflects this value deeply ingrained in Indian society, nurtured over several generations… Where society can display inclusiveness and understanding, such persons can be assured of a life of dignity and non-discrimination. This was the ‘spirit behind the Resolution’ of which Nehru spoke so passionately.”
- Naz Foundation v NCT, Delhi High Court, July 2009
This judgment back in 2009 was one of the most significant judgments around the world. Primarily because not only did it overrule the law that was responsible for violating the right to equality, dignity and privacy of an individual for the past 148 years but also because it introduced a progressive and different outlook from the majoritarianism approach. It brought along the dismissal of the feeling of alienation that the LGBTQ community was living with and fighting against, in a world where being on the other side of what is “socially acceptable” by the majority or the society in general, isn’t the best side to be on. Then came a judgment by the apex court, ironically a day after the celebrations of the Human Rights Day, in 2013, overruling the High Court’s judgment that was responsible for granting a section of the society, the rights that it had been deprived of and upholding the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature.”, in the name of upholding democracy.
While I’m in complete agreement with the criticism surrounding
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“If there is one constitutional tenet that can be said to be underlying theme of the Indian Constitution, it is that of ‘inclusiveness’. This Court believes that Indian Constitution reflects this value deeply ingrained in Indian society, nurtured over several generations… Where society can display inclusiveness and understanding, such persons can be assured of a life of dignity and non-discrimination. This was the ‘spirit behind the Resolution’ of which Nehru spoke so passionately.”
- Naz Foundation v NCT, Delhi High Court, July 2009
This judgment back in 2009 was one of the most significant judgments around the world. Primarily because not only did it overrule the law that was responsible for violating the right to equality, dignity and privacy of an individual for the past 148 years but also because it introduced a progressive and different outlook from the majoritarianism approach. It brought along the dismissal of the feeling of alienation that the LGBTQ community was living with and fighting against, in a world where being on the other side of what is “socially acceptable” by the majority or the society in general, isn’t the best side to be on. Then came a judgment by the apex court, ironically a day after the celebrations of the Human Rights Day, in 2013, overruling the High Court’s judgment that was responsible for granting a section of the society, the rights that it had been deprived of and upholding the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature.”, in the name of upholding democracy.
While I’m in complete agreement with the criticism surrounding