Indian LGBT activists outraged as supreme urt restat gay sex ban | India | The Guardian

Contents:

• SRABH KIRPAL: THE MAN WHO ULD BE INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY JUDGE
• GAY UPL INDIA ASK SUPREME COURT TO LEGALISE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
• INDIA'S SUPREME COURT STRIK DOWN BAN ON GAY SEX
• INDIA'S SUPREME COURT TURNS THE CLOCK BACK WH GAY SEX BAN
• FOUR UPL ARE PETNG INDIA'S SUPREME COURT TO LEGALIZE GAY MARRIAGE
• INDIAN LGBT ACTIVISTS OUTRAGED AS SUPREME URT RESTAT GAY SEX BAN

SRABH KIRPAL: THE MAN WHO ULD BE INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY JUDGE

"I'm very optimistic and have great fah the judiciary, " Ms Guswamy, whose team is reprentg six same-sex unn s urt, told the of her optimism e om readg the December 2018 judgement that crimalised gay sex - "the thg that stck me most was that the urt emphasised the right to choice of partner and that mak me very optimistic", she said. "Homosexualy is not a disease, " the IPS said, addg that discrimatn agast LGBTQ+ people uld "lead to mental health issu them" IPS statement rri some heft - a siar statement supportg crimalisg gay sex 2018 had been referred to by the Supreme Court s judgement. The Supreme Court 2018 stck down a lonial-era law that ma gay sex punishable by up to 10 years prison, and is now hearg arguments a se to legalize same-sex marriage.

" 18 upl have petned the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage Dai's reactn to her son tellg her he was gay was so remarkable that her phone number quickly circulated among members of Mumbai's LGBTQ+ muny. Some of India's biggt silver-screen stars have played queer rol, cludg Rajkummar Rao, who played a gay police officer the 2022 film Badhaai Do, and Sonam Kapoor, who played a lbian 2019's Ek Ladki Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. It is the latt a seri of urt cisns to challenge the untry’s nservative mor, and uld have major implitns for the rights of women and gay urt led favor of Deepika Sgh, a nurse whose employer, a ernment medil stute northern India, had nied her applitn for materny leave after she gave birth bee she had already taken leave to re for her hband’s children om a prev marriage.

GAY UPL INDIA ASK SUPREME COURT TO LEGALISE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

In recent years, the urt has creasgly phed back agast India’s societal norms on genr and sexualy, an apparent nod to the fact that many Indians themselv are rejectg those a landmark lg 2014, the urt regnized transgenr people as a third genr servg equal accs to legal protectns and social welfare Supreme Court crimalized homosexualy 2018, overturng one of the world’s olst bans on nsensual gay September, the urt opened the door for women to pursue ary reers at the hight levels, and May, orred the police to rpect the right for women to engage the groundbreakg lg on homosexualy, activists have been petng urts to legalize gay marriage, and to extend the benefs of marriage to same-sex domtic partnerships, as well as to allow same-sex upl to foster and adopt effort has bumped up agast a plex approach to acmodatg India’s relig India, marriage is erned by a set of relig, personal laws, which date to the lonial era and vary among fahs, and by a secular law lled the Special Marriage Act. It's wily believed that Prime Mister Narendra Modi's ernment is likely to accept Mr Kirpal's name the g 2018, the Supreme Court crimalised gay sex a landmark lg which was seen as a huge victory for the untry's LGBTQ populatn - Mr Kirpal was the lawyer for two key petners the se.

Image source, NurPhotoImage ptn, In 2018, the Supreme Court crimalised gay sex a landmark 2020, he said he was two mds about his name beg sent for the post, but eventually agreed bee he thought he uld be a role mol for the LGBTQ muny.

Mr Kirpal has said that he nsirs two people as his biggt fluenc the field of law - his father and Mr Kirpal's father, BN Kirpal, served as India's chief D Rangnekar, a former journalist and thor of Straight to Normal: My Life as a Gay Man, said the remendatn was a "historic" moment for the muny. Notably, this same urt granted certa rights to the transgenr muny 2014, clared privacy a nstutnal right 2017, crimalized gay sex 2018 and expand protectns for "atypil" fai 2022.

INDIA'S SUPREME COURT STRIK DOWN BAN ON GAY SEX

The Indian Psychiatric Society, the untry's largt anizatn of mental health profsnals, issued a statement last week reeratg that homosexualy is not a disease and that nyg people their civil rights may lead to mental health issu. REUTERS/Anhree FadnavisSummarySupreme Court to hear gay marriage se JanuaryFour gay upl say nied basic fundamental rightsModi ernment has opposed same-sex marriageCase seen as key tt for Modi ernmentNEW DELHI, Dec 19 (Rters) - Four gay upl have asked India's Supreme Court to regnise same-sex marriag, settg the stage for a legal face-off wh Prime Mister Narendra Modi's ernment which has the past refed to legalise such a historic verdict 2018, India's top urt crimalised homosexualy by scrappg a lonial-era ban on gay sex. Dpe the 2018 lg, members of India's lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) muny pla about a lack of acceptance and discrimatn agast gay people Indian activists say that while 2018 lg affirmed their nstutnal rights, they are still prived of legal backg for same-sex marriag, a basic right enjoyed by heterosexual married three Supreme Court filgs seen by Rters, the upl say that whout legal regnn of beg married, they are nied rights such as those lked to medil nsent, pensns, adoptn or even simpler thgs like club memberships for upl.

"In tth, they have no rights at all, " the filg four gay upl want a Supreme Court lg that modifi or terprets laws a way that allows same-genr marriag, the urt filgs is a sensive subject the socially nservative untry of 1.

4 billn people, where speakg openly about homosexualy is taboo for pleas have already triggered a bate on prime-time TV news and generated edorials newspapers whether the time has e for the world's largt mocracy to jo roughly three dozen untri where such marriag are Uned Stat this month approved legislatn that provis feral regnn to same-sex marriag a bid to further safeguard gay Indian Supreme Court s, which follow many lawsus filed lower urts where no cisn was reached, will be a key tt for Modi's Hdu natnalist ernment and his Monday, a feral lawmaker om Modi's party appealed to lleagu the upper hoe of parliament to oppose legal regnn of marriage between same-sex upl.

INDIA'S SUPREME COURT TURNS THE CLOCK BACK WH GAY SEX BAN

"Backg the upl are high-profile lawyers cludg one of India's former Attorney Generals and another unsel named Srabh Kirpal, who is openly gay and an terview last month acced Modi's ernment of layg his elevatn as a state judge due to his sexual and Modi's office did not rpond to a requt for ment on those remarks. New Delhi’s High Court crimalized homosexualy among nsentg adults 2009, only to be later overturned by the untry’s Supreme Court 2012, followg appeals om relig groups.

Even though Hdu and Mlim groups cid to stand back and not legally challenge the petn, members om all relig groups have vociferoly fend their anti-gay stand speech and media appearanc. ET Celebratns by India's LGBTQ muny stretched to the night Thursday, after the untry's Supreme Court stck down a long-standg ban on gay sex a unanimo cisn that marks a watershed the socially nservative untry of 1. It is a landmark lg a natn where attus about gays and lbians are begng to change — and the cisn pots to more qutns of how India will extend equal protectns to the LGBTQ muny.

FOUR UPL ARE PETNG INDIA'S SUPREME COURT TO LEGALIZE GAY MARRIAGE

"I was nsired as a crimal jt bee the person wh whom I wanted to make love was of the same genr, " said Ank Bhuptani, a gay rights activist and founr of the Gay and Lbian Vaishnava Associatn. NEW DELHI (Rters) - India’s Supreme Court on Wednday restated a ban on gay sex the world’s largt mocracy, followg a four-year perd of crimalizatn that had helped brg homosexualy to the open the socially nservative untry.

REUTERS/Danish SiddiquiIn 2009 the Delhi High Court led unnstutnal a sectn of the penal datg back to 1860 that prohibs “rnal terurse agast the orr of nature wh any man, woman or animal” and lifted the ban for nsentg Supreme Court threw out that cisn, sayg only parliament uld change Sectn 377 of the penal , wily terpreted to refer to homosexual sex. General electns are due by next May and the socially nservative Hdu natnalist opposn is already gatherg ’s gay culture has opened up recent years, although the untry remas overwhelmgly nservative and sex outsi marriage, even among heterosexual upl, is largely owned upon.

INDIAN LGBT ACTIVISTS OUTRAGED AS SUPREME URT RESTAT GAY SEX BAN

India’s first gay pri march took place the eastern cy of Kolkata 1999 and only around a dozen people, sce 2008, India’s pal Delhi, s fancial center, Mumbai, the IT hub of Bangalore and other ci have started holdg much larger events. Gay film ftivals and universy mp groups have also spng 2009 judgment had allowed people to anize such events far more openly by protectg gay people om beg fired bee of their sexualy, and has meant that doctors uld no longer refe to treat homosexuals, activists say. ”Gay rights protters held a monstratn on Wednday Delhi and some Indians changed their Facebook profile pictur to show two men kissg a sign of their support for an apparent prott agast the lg, spected hackers posted the phrase “supremeurt is so gay” on Pepsi India’s Twter acunt on Wednday.

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST: Five years ago, India crimalized gay sex, and now some gay and lbian upl are petng the Supreme Court to take the next step - legalizg gay marriage.