Decriminalising homosexual behaviour
Repealing IPC 377: Recognising diversity and dissent Delhi High Court has passed a landmark judgment that severely restricts the scope of the section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The decision noted, “Respect for human rights requires that certain basic rights of individuals should not be capable in any circumstances of being overridden by the majority, even if they think that the public interest so requires. Other rights should be capable of being overridden only in very restricted circumstances. These are rights which belong to individuals simply by virtue of their humanity, independently of any utilitarian calculation.” In this article titled, " Recognising diversity and dissent " , published in Pragati: The National Interest magazine, in August 2009, I discuss the significance of decriminalising Section 377 of the penal code in the wider political and constitutional context. The Delhi High Court’s ruling decriminalising consensual adult homosexual acts has not only ena...