Supreme Court terms same-sex relationships illegal

Section 377 (unnatural offences) of IPC makes gay sex a criminal offence entailing punishment upto life imprisonment. 

The petition seeking to decriminalise gay sex was filed in the high court by Naz Foundation. 

Senior BJP leader B P Singhal, who died in October last year, had challenged the high court verdict in the apex court, saying such acts are illegal, immoral and against the ethos of the Indian culture.

Religious organisations like All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Utkal Christian Council and Apostolic Churches Alliance too had challenged the judgement. 

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Right, Tamil Nadu Muslim Munn Kazhgam, SD Pritinidhi Sabha, Joint Action Council, Raza Academy, astrologer Suresh Kumar Kaushal, yoga guru Ramdev's disciple S K Tijarawala, Ram Murti, Bhim Singh, B Krishna Bhat had also opposed the verdict. 

The Centre had earlier informed the apex court that there are an estimated 25 lakh gay people and about seven per cent (1.75 lakh) of them are HIV-infected.

In its affidavit, the Union Health Ministry had said it was planning to bring four lakh high-risk ‘men who have sex with men (MSM)' under its AIDS control programme and it has already covered around two lakh of them.