Chidambaram welcomes SC's reference of same sex issue to larger bench

New Delhi: Former Union home minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court decision to refer to a five-judge constitution bench the reexamination of the verdict on same sex relationships and hoped that the Delhi High Court judgement on it will be upheld.

"I am happy that an error is being corrected. This is only the first step. I look forward to the day when the SC will uphold the judgement of the Delhi High Court," he said in a statement.

Chidambaram was reacting to the decision of a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur to refer a bunch of curative petitions seeking review of the 2013 judgement that had reversed the Delhi High Court verdict that had decriminalised sex among gay adults.

The former minister, himself an eminent lawyer, has been strongly in favour of the Supreme Court reviewing the 2013 judgement.