New Delhi, July 02: The Law Commission's report
recommending scrapping of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code
which provides punishment for homosexual acts came handy for
the Delhi High Court which on Thursday legalised gay sex among the
consenting adults.
In its 172nd report, the Commission had recommended
deletion of Section 377 IPC prescribing maximum sentence upto
life term and sought review of laws on sexual offences.
"Conclusively, the Section 377 of the IPC in the
opinion of the Commission deserves to be deleted in the light
of recommended amendments. However persons, having carnal
intercourse with any animal, were to be left to their just
deserts.
"Though the Law Commission report would not expressly
say so, it is implicit in the suggested amendments that
elements of 'will' and 'consent' will become relevant to
determine if the sexual contact (homosexual for the purpose at
hand) constitute an offence or not," a Bench of Chief Justice
A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said in the verdict.
While decriminalising homosexual acts among
consenting adults, it said its ruling will remain as law
"till, of course, Parliament chooses to amend the law to
effectuate the recommendation of the Law Commission report
which we believe removes a great deal of confusion."
Justice B P Jeevan Reddy, former Supreme Court judge
who was the chairman of Law Commission, had submitted a report
in March 2000 recommending a vast review in rape and sexual
assault laws.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, July 02, 2009, 21:49