Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: In a respite for the gay community in India, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a Delhi High Court ruling legalising gay sex among consenting adults.
The apex court passed its order while hearing a plea filed by astrologer Suresh Kumar Kaushal against the Delhi HC verdict.
When the hearing resumed in the SC today, the government pleaded the apex court to grant eight-weeks time to clear its stand on the much-debated topic.
The Centre pleaded that since it was a complicated issue and at least three Union Ministries were involved in it, at least eight-week time was needed to carefully examine every aspects of the Delhi High Court ruling decriminalising gay sex.
Earlier, on July 09 a two-judge bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice KG Balkrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam had issued notice to the Union government, to explain its stand on a petition challenging the Delhi High Court's ruling to legalize gay sex among consenting adults.
The bench today said they would hear the opinions of all the parties concerned before giving any interim order in this matter.
Except the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), no political party has made its stand clear on the Delhi High Court's ruling to quash Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
When the counsel appearing for Kaushal tried to drag the attention of the bench about seven cases of gay marriages reported after Delhi High Court's verdict, the bench made it clear that they have not changed the definition of marriage.
The bench said the police had not been registering cases under Section 377 of IPC, and no body has been prosecuted. Though the clause has been in place since 1860 only few cases have been registered under the penal provision except those of paedophile cases, the judges said.
In the petition Kaushal said, homosexual behaviour is against the Indian societal norms; if such abnormality is permitted, it will lead society towards a wrong path.
Notices were also issued to NAZ Foundation, and other respondents who were parties before the Delhi High Court.
First Published: Tuesday, July 21, 2009, 00:28