India government asks court to review gay sex ban
Source: BBC
The Indian government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking it to review its decision to reinstate a 153-year-old law that criminalises homosexuality.
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In its ruling, the Delhi High Court had described Section 377 - the colonial-era law which says a same-sex relationship is an "unnatural offence" and punishable by a 10-year jail term - as discriminatory and said gay sex between consenting adults should not be treated as a crime.
But the Supreme Court said it was up to parliament to change the law and the courts did not have the mandate to rule on it.
"The government has filed the review petition on Section 377 in the Supreme Court today. Let's hope the right to personal choices is preserved," Law Minister Kapil Sibal tweeted on Friday.
Read more: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25461691
Just thought we could use some good news from India for a minute...
To recap: a Delhi court overturned the law in 2009, and a divisional bench (two judges of India's supreme court) overturned that overturning. However, since that was just a divisional bench and fundamental questions of equity are at stake, the Federal government can (and, apparently, is going to) request a full constitutional bench of 5 or 7 judges.
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