I disagree with Beatles' 'All you need is love' song, we need a little more than love: Justice DY Chandrachud

Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud was speaking at a function to mark the fourth anniversary of the landmark Indian Section 377 judgment.

New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud on Tuesday (August 30, 2022) said that equality is not just achieved by the decriminalisation of Section 377 of the IPC alone but it must also extend to all spheres of life. Speaking at an event organised by the British High Commission, Justice Chandrachud, said "Equality is not just be achieved by the decriminalisation of Section 377 of IPC alone, it must extend to all spheres of life including the home, the workplace, the public place, that we occupied."

"While the decision in Navtej (Sec 377) was momentous, we have a long way to go. The Beatles famously sang `All you need is love, love; Love is all you need`. At the risk of ruffling the feathers of music aficionados everywhere, I take the liberty to disagree with them and say - perhaps we need a little more than love. Structural changes, as well as attitudinal changes, are essential," he stated.

The British High Commission on Tuesday hosted a reception to mark the fourth anniversary of the landmark Indian Section 377 judgment. 

Justice Chandrachud was one of the five judges who passed the historic judgment of striking down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which criminalised homosexuality.

"I was lucky enough to be the part of that bench that passed the judgement. In the case, we went back and reversed our own view which said that Section 377 IPC was constitutional. When we walked into the case we had to take a call about whether our own predecessors were right," he said. 
Justice Chandrachud further said, "As a young lawyer and later as judge of the Bombay High Court, "I would walk around the Marine Drive in Mumbai, particularly after the work was done. There was a striking sight which never left my mind that was policemen with a baton in their hand stopping couples either they were of a different gender or from the same gender. They were just tapped with the baton on their shoulder to separate them. It was a clear symbol of what the police can do to create fear amongst the people who were doing nothing but just symbolising love." 

He added that when the bench was delivering the verdict, there was a striking scene where many people from the LGBT community were crying in the court after the verdict was pronounced. 

"It was a kind of healing for them of its own kind," he said. 

He also said it was not merely a black paper of law that the bench decided. 

"It was really for a change... But the change really reside in the heart and soul of each one of us in society," he said.