After over 150 years of anti-LGBT legislation, India’s Supreme Court has finally ruled to decriminalize consensual gay sex. This was a unanimous decision and is a major victory for India’s LGBT activists after years of long legal battles fighting for change.
Section 377 of the Indian penal code, which previously banned gay sex, dates back to 1861 when the country was under British colonial rule. The law is generally interpreted as a ban on all oral and anal sex, and carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for intercourse “against the order of nature.”
This decision paves the road for a space of freedom and justice in India, and the opportunity to extend even greater legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community.
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