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A three-member group of ministers decides not to oppose the Delhi High Court judgment legalising homosexuality even though some members of the Union Cabinet express reservations about supporting a gay rights law
The Indian government has formally announced its decision not to challenge a Delhi High Court order legalising homosexuality before the Supreme Court, after a three-member committee comprising Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Law Minister M Veerappa Moily decided not to oppose the high court judgment. Attorney General of India Goolam E Vahanvati also told the Supreme Court that the government would not oppose the order and that he would assist the apex court on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code relating to homosexuality. The attorney general will leave the decision to the Supreme Court when it hears the petition against the high court order, on October 1. Addressing a press conference on September 17, 2009, after the Cabinet meeting, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said Cabinet had considered the report of the three-member group of ministers and had decided not to oppose the high court ruling. “The government has taken a firm decision after considering the panel report. The Cabinet decided that the attorney general should assist the Supreme Court in every way desired by the court to come at an opinion in judging the correctness of the Delhi High Court order,” Soni said. Although some Cabinet members expressed reservations about supporting a gay rights law, Cabinet refused to take a stand on the controversial issue. The Supreme Court had, on August 17, sought a response from the government on petitions filed by a Christian body and a disciple of yoga guru Ramdev seeking a stay on the Delhi High Court verdict legalising gay sex, on grounds that it would have a catastrophic effect on the moral fabric of society. Before finalising the note for the Union Cabinet, the ministers held a series of meetings to arrive at a conclusion on the issue. In a recent interview to a television channel, Moily said that the government was impressed by the recent Delhi High Court order legalising homosexuality. “One thing must go to the credit of the Delhi High Court judgment. It is well documented, well researched. I must tell the judges... the subject may be different, but at the same time this is one judgment which has really stood out in the judicial annals of this country,” Moily said. The high court “overturned” a 147-year-old colonial relic of a law that punishes consensual homosexual acts with a prison sentence. The verdict has been welcomed across India and the world. Source: Press Trust of India, September 17, 2009
Business Standard, September 17, 2009
http://ibnlive.in.com, September 2009
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