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Which way will the verdict on Section 377 swing?

BANGALORE: The judgment on the reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, expected on Thursday, is being eagerly awaited by sexuality minority activists in Bangalore who have played an important role in the ongoing litigation in Delhi High Court.

The judgment will be a historic one if it does indeed result in the decriminalising of homosexuality.

The recent remarks made by Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad, however, have created some apprehension in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community and activists.

After a few religious groups vociferously argued against reading down of the law, the two ministers have been speaking of the need to “build consensus” before going ahead with it.

Members of organisations such as the Alternative Law Forum (ALF), who played an important role in the litigation, said that objections raised to reading down the section on religious grounds did not hold water because “everything that is religious is not Constitutional”.

“How can religious feelings dictate the law of the land?” asks Arvind Narrain of the ALF. However, he said that there should be a space for dialogue between religious leaders and the community “because of the kind of influence religious leaders have over society.”

Siddharth Narrain, also from ALF, said that it would be naive to assume that all religions had a uniform opinion on sexuality. “There are numerous churches that support gay rights, and different religions have space for sexuality minorities within their framework,” he says.

Meanwhile, working on gender equity and human rights in the global response to HIV/AIDS, organisations like Insa India have brought sexuality and religion into their framework.

Edwina Periera of Insa said that by organising a people’s panchayat on sexuality, they brought religious leaders of different communities to directly address the connection between religion and homophobia. She said a lot of work needed to be taken up by religious institutions in order to talk about issues on sexuality, and even subjects like HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Siddharth Narrain said that Mr. Azad’s statement about gaining “popular consensus” was not valid, simply because it was the Health Ministry that was dealing with the prevention of HIV/AIDS. “Sweeping homosexuality under the carpet will not help tackle HIV/AIDS,” he said.

“In fact, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) was one of the organisations to file an affidavit asking for the reading down of Section 377,” he added.

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