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Gay Sex Ban Upheld By Indian Supreme Court

Gay Sex Ban Upheld By Indian Supreme Court
Sara C Nelson
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Gay sex is to remain a crime in India after the country’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal to overturn the controversial ban.

Activists and the Indian government had filed a petition asking for the ruling which stated that gay sex is a criminal offence to be reviewed.

"We have gone through the review petitions and the connected papers. We see no reason to interfere with the order impugned (under challenge).

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LGBT activists in New Delhi protest against the Supreme Court's judgement last month

"The review petitions are, accordingly, dismissed," said the bench of Justice Dattu and Justice Mukhopadhaya on Tuesday.

"The Supreme Court has turned a cold shoulder to these groups and their suffering," Arvind Narrain, one of the lawyers who brought the rights' groups petitions, told Reuters.

"The court had an opportunity to correct itself today. This is a court that is meant to be for all human beings."

In December the Supreme Court overturned a 2009 decision of the Delhi High Court, which decriminalised relations between people of the same sex.

It said it was up to parliament to legislate on the issue and upheld the constitutional validity of Section 377 of India’s penal code - which dates back to 1860.

In its petition filed in the Supreme Court, the government said “the position of the central government on this issue has been that the Delhi High Court verdict… is correct,” the BBC revealed.

The country’s penal code dates back to the days of British colonial rule in India and bans “carnal acts against the order of nature”, widely interpreted to mean gay sex.

The 2009 ruling which decriminalised gay sex was the result of a case brought by the Naz Foundation, an Indian sexual rights organisation which said the law was hindering its battle to reduce the transmission of HIV.

The matter comes almost a year to the date after the death of a 23-year-old gang rape victim, which sent women's rights to the top of India's social agenda.

Four men found guilty of her death were sentenced to death in September.

Gay rights in India
(01 of15)
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Gay rights activists display a rainbow-colored flag as they march in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. The demonstrators urged an end to all forms of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgenders in India, four years after a colonial-era law that criminalized gay sex was overturned.(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal) (credit:AP)
(02 of15)
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Gay rights activists dance as they march in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. The demonstrators urged an end to all forms of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgenders in India, four years after a colonial-era law that criminalized gay sex was overturned.(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal) (credit:AP)
(03 of15)
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Gay rights activists dance as they march in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. The demonstrators urged an end to all forms of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgenders in India, four years after a colonial-era law that criminalized gay sex was overturned. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal) (credit:AP)
(04 of15)
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Gay rights activists display rainbow-colored banner and shout slogans as they march in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. The demonstrators urged an end to all forms of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgenders in India, four years after a colonial-era law that criminalized gay sex was overturned.(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal) (credit:AP)
(05 of15)
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Gay rights activists display a rainbow-colored banner as they march in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. The demonstrators urged an end to all forms of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgenders in India, four years after a colonial-era law that criminalized gay sex was overturned.(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal) (credit:AP)
(06 of15)
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An Indian volunteer holds a placard during a march by the lesbians, gay, bisexuals and transponders (LGBT) community in Chennai, India, Sunday, June 30, 2013. Members of LGBT participated in the march to demand for their recoginition and rights and to uphold the Naz Foundation 2009 verdict that read down the IPC Section 377 to exclude consensual relationships among adults of the same sex. (AP Photo/Arun Sankar K.) (credit:AP)
(07 of15)
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An Indian supporter of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) community wears a mask during a march in Chennai, India, Sunday, June 30, 2013. Members of LGBT participated in the march to demand for their recoginition and rights and to uphold the Naz Foundation 2009 verdict that read down the IPC Section 377 to exclude consensual relationships among adults of the same sex. (AP Photo/Arun Sankar K.) (credit:AP)
(08 of15)
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Members and supporters of the transgender community participate in a candlelight vigil on the first day of Bengaluru Pride and the Karnataka Queer Habba (festival) in remembrance of those from their community who died the past year, in Bangalore, India, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2012. The vigil was also held to protest daily harassment, violence and discrimination faced by the gay, lesbian, bisexual, inter-sex and transgender community. Placards shows portrait of a member from their community who died a few days ago. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) (credit:AP)
(09 of15)
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Members and supporters of the transgender community participate in a candlelight vigil on the first day of Bengaluru Pride and Karnataka Queer Habba (festival) in remembrance of those from their community who died the past year, in Bangalore, India, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2012. The vigil was also held to protest daily harassment, violence and discrimination faced by the gay, lesbian, bisexual, inter-sex and transgender community. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) (credit:AP)
(10 of15)
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Members of the transgender community listen to a speaker as they participate in a candlelight vigil on the first day of Bengaluru Pride and Karnataka Queer Habba (festival) 2012 in remembrance of those from their community who died the past year, in Bangalore, India, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2012. The vigil was also held to protest daily harassment, violence and discrimination faced by the gay, lesbian, bisexual, inter-sex and transgender community. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) (credit:AP)
(11 of15)
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Members of the transgender community participate in a candlelight vigil on the first day of Bengaluru Pride and Karnataka Queer Habba (festival) 2012 in remembrance of those from their community who died the past year, in Bangalore, India, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. The vigil was also held to protest daily harassment, violence and discrimination faced by the gay, lesbian, bisexual, inter-sex and transgender community. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) (credit:AP)
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FILE- In this Jan. 28, 2012 file photo, participants carry a rainbow flag during a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parade in Mumbai, India. A lawyer for India's Home Ministry told the country's top court Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012, that gay sex was "immoral" and urged the court to keep it illegal, even as the government denied it opposed decriminalizing homosexuality. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File) (credit:AP)
(13 of15)
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FILE- In this July 2, 2010 file photograph, gay rights activists participate in a celebration marking the first anniversary of an Indian court's ruling decriminalizing homosexuality in India, in New Delhi, India. A lawyer for India's Home Ministry told the country's top court Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012, that gay sex was "immoral" and urged the court to keep it illegal, even as the government denied it opposed decriminalizing homosexuality. (AP Photo/ Manish Swarup, File) (credit:AP)
(14 of15)
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Gays, lesbians and transgenders dance into the night as they participate in the 4th Delhi Queer Pride in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. The parade was to protest daily harassment, violence and discrimination faced by the gay, lesbian, bisexual, inter-sex and transgender community despite a Delhi High Court ruling in 2009, decriminalizing same-sex behavior among consenting adults. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das) (credit:AP)
(15 of15)
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Police personnel watch the parade as a costumed man rests while participating in the 4th Delhi Queer Pride in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. The parade was to protest daily harassment, violence and discrimination faced by the gay, lesbian, bisexual, inter-sex and transgender community despite a Delhi High Court ruling in 2009, decriminalizing same-sex behavior among consenting adults. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das) (credit:AP)
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