The Supreme Court of India in a landmark judgement struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). With this India has entered the list of countries that legalise homosexuality. 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 Thursday morning. The bench had earlier reserved its verdict on July 17.

The Article 377 states that whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, will get life imprisonment, or with imprisonment of either for a term which may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to pay a fine. This law which dates back to 1861 also includes any sexual union involving penile insertion. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalises homosexuality.

Here is a list of countries other than India that decriminalised homosexuality:

Countries Years
Australia 2017
Malta 2017
Germany 2017
Colombia 2016
The United States 2015
Greenland 2015
Ireland 2015
Finland 2015
Luxembourg 2014
Scotland 2014
England and Wales 2013
Brazil 2013
France 2013
Uruguay 2013
New Zealand 2013
Denmark 2012
Argentina 2010
Portugal 2010
Iceland 2010
Sweden 2009
Norway 2008
South Africa 2006
Spain 2005
Canada 2005
Belgium 2003
Netherlands 2000

In April 2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to allow gay and lesbian to marry in a civil ceremony. In June 2015 a supreme court decision legalised gay marriage across the US. On 24 May 2017, the Constitutional Court in Taiwan ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry under the Constitution. However, it has given the Legislative Yuan two years to amend the marriage laws to align with the Constitution. Section 377 Hearing In Supreme Court: India Not Alone, Homosexuality A Crime in These Five Countries Too

While in the West, LGBTQ has always been in discussion, related talks began here only in the recent past. With the advent of social media, debates and the sharing of ideas on the topic surged immensely. During the last hearing session, the Centre said that the Supreme Court will decide on the Constitutionality of 377. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra had stated that constitutional questions cannot be decided by referendum when one lawyer argued and that popular opinion should be examined. Five judges including Misra will state their arguments after which the final verdict will be declared.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 06, 2018 01:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).