Section 377 Verdict: Congress Welcomes SC Decision, Calls it 'Beginning of a more equal And inclusive society'

New Delhi, September 6: In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which criminalised homosexuality. The Indian National Congress (INC) has welcomed the decision of the decriminalisation of homosexuality. In its tweet, the Congress called it a progressive and decisive verdict which would lead to equality in the society.

The party tweeted, “We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive and decisive verdict from the Supreme Court and hope this is the beginning of a more equal and inclusive society.” In its earlier tweet, the Congress took a dig on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for opposing the private member bill in the parliament tabled by the party MP, Shashi Tharoor in 2015.

A five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra and comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud, Rohinton Fali Nariman, A M Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra, issued the verdict on a bunch of petitions filed to scrap the law. The bench had earlier reserved its verdict on July 17. While delivering a judgment, The CJI observed that criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible.

The Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the 157-year-old law, criminalised certain sexual acts. The section these sexual acts as 'unnatural offences which attracted a 10-year jail term. The Delhi High Court, in 2009, decriminalised homosexuality. But in 2013, the Supreme Court restored the law. Three years later, the top court agreed to hear the Section 377 petition once more.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 06, 2018 01:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).