New Delhi, Sept 7: Although the Supreme Court has struck down provisions of Section 377 in the IPC which criminalised gay sex, the Centre is likely to oppose the plea seeking constitutional nod for same sex marriages, top government sources were reported as saying on Friday.

Following the historic verdict by apex court yesterday, activists associated with the Naz Foundation said their next goal is to achieve legal status for marriages between sex sex couples.

According to government sources cited by News18, the Centre is of the view that the public opinion is deeply divided on same sex marriages, and hence it would oppose the plea seeking legalisation of gay marriages.

Notably, the central government had refrained to take a stand when the five-judge constitutional bench heard the curative plea seeking decriminalisation of Section 377.

Although the government did not react to apex court's verdict on Thursday, the ruling BJP's parental body, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, said homosexuality is no longer a crime, but it is "not natural".

"Gay marriage and relationship are not compatible with nature and are not natural, so we do not support this kind of relationship. Traditionally, India's society also does not recognize such relations," said RSS' All India campaign chief Arun Kumar.

Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy said homosexuality is a "psychological and genetic defect" which should be treated. "You can search on the internet and find out that more than 60 per cent scientists and doctors say that homosexuality is a genetic flaw," he added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 07, 2018 11:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).