The Supreme Court is likely to take up a petition on decriminalizing Section 377 of the IPC on Wednesday, June 29. According to The Times of India (TOI) report, five eminent LGBT activists have moved the apex court questioning the constitutional validity of Section 377 that is in existence since the British era. The petitioners are: chef Ritu Dalmia, dancer NS Johar, hotelier Aman Nath, journalist Sunil Mehra and business executive Ayesha Kapur.
The fight against Section 377 has been a protracted one and the LGBT community has been toiling hard for its right to sexual preferences.
The TOI story says that unlike in the past some of the distinguished members of the LGBT community have come out in the open for the first time and boldly taken a stand. Another significant aspect of this petition is that it has been filed for the first time by people who are directly affected. Earlier, the challenge to Section 377 came either from an NGO, Naz Foundation, or gay rights sympathizers.
The Delhi High Court had decriminalized Section 377 in July 2009. Much later in December 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the High Court verdict, upholding its constitutional validity. It ruled that the power to take a decision on Section 377 lay with Parliament. The review petition against its verdict was later dismissed in 2014 by the apex court and the curative petition is awaiting a decision.