Section 377 Verdict Reserved by SC; Court Asks All Parties to File Written Submissions by Friday
Last week, Centre passed the buck on Supreme Court and said that the Constitutionality of 377 is to be decided by the Court
The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on whether to decriminalise Section 377, the archaic law which criminalises homosexuality. The SC asked all the counsel who argued for and against 377 to submit their written submissions by this Friday. The case is being heard by the newly reconstituted bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and comprises of Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.
The panel is examining the petitions claiming that the 2013 judgment was wrong. What is Section 377 of IPC? Know All About the Law on Homosexuality & LGBTQ Rights. Last week, Centre passed the buck on Supreme Court and said that the Constitutionality of 377 is to be decided by the Court. CJI Dipak Misra stated that constitutional questions cannot be decided by referendum when one lawyer argued that popular opinion should be examined to decide Section 377.
Lawyer Manoj George while presenting his case at the Supreme Court said, "Anything which needs to be done to 377 in the manner sought by the petitioners should be left to the Parliament.". In response to which, Justice Rohinton Nariman replied saying, "The moment we are convinced there is a violation of fundamental rights, we will strike it down and not leave it to the legislature."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 17, 2018 03:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).