In Brief
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India declared Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional insofar as it criminalizes consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex. The Court held that sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy and dignity protected under Article 21, and that criminalizing such conduct violates fundamental rights to equality, non-discrimination, freedom of expression, and the right to life. The judgment overruled the 2013 Suresh Kumar Koushal decision, finding its reasoning flawed in relying on the size of the affected population. The Court emphasized that constitutional morality, not social morality, governs fundamental rights, and that protection of rights does not depend on majoritarian sanction. While decriminalizing consensual same-sex conduct, the judgment preserves criminalization for non-consensual acts, acts involving minors, and bestiality.
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