From over at Religion Clause comes a report that a high court in Delhi, India, has struck down as unconstitutional a ban on homosexual sexual acts performed in private between consenting adults. The court concluded that the ban infringes upon the right to privacy guaranteed by other sections of the Indian Constitution.
The law in question, 377 IPC, was enacted in the nineteenth century, when India was a colony under British rule. Recently, it was challenged by a group working towards HIV/AIDS education. Of particular note is the following statement made in the court opinion: Section 377 IPC is based upon traditional Judeo-Christian moral and ethical standards, which conceive of sex in purely functional terms, i.e., for the purpose of procreation only. Any non-procreative sexual activity is thus viewed as being "against the order of nature”. The submission is that the legislation criminalising consensual oral and anal sex is outdated and has no place in modern society.
In other words, trying to legislate private acts by invoking morality clauses just doesn't cut it in the Indian high court. It will be interesting to see if this sets a precedent in other countries that claim to be far more progressive.
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The law in question, 377 IPC, was enacted in the nineteenth century, when India was a colony under British rule. Recently, it was challenged by a group working towards HIV/AIDS education. Of particular note is the following statement made in the court opinion: Section 377 IPC is based upon traditional Judeo-Christian moral and ethical standards, which conceive of sex in purely functional terms, i.e., for the purpose of procreation only. Any non-procreative sexual activity is thus viewed as being "against the order of nature”. The submission is that the legislation criminalising consensual oral and anal sex is outdated and has no place in modern society.
In other words, trying to legislate private acts by invoking morality clauses just doesn't cut it in the Indian high court. It will be interesting to see if this sets a precedent in other countries that claim to be far more progressive.
Follow Pagan/Wiccan on Twitter or Join Me On Facebook!
I’m happy the outcome was this, but a little saddened it had been taken to court at all. I guess it’s progress though.