the famous section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was much in news recently when a Delhi High Court division bench took matters into its hands and re-interpreted a century-old law. kudos! not so heartening was the reaction of the people, as reported.
i'm not even going to get into the debate about whether or not homosexuality is morally or ethically "right", because i feel there can be no meeting ground between people who think it's a perversion of nature and those who believe it's as natural as heterosexuality and deserves the same respect.
what i want to talk about today is the legal position. it is quite obvious to any homosexual person that gay marriage is not permitted in India. heck, it's still amazing that inter-religious marriage is allowed! but until recently, homosexuality was actually a crime under the Indian Penal Code, punishable by imprisonment for life or ten years and a fine!
this is how the section reads:
"377. Unnatural offences: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offense described in this section."
a simple reading throws up the following observations:
the judgement, though laudable, can only do so much. firstly, it is only binding on district courts and any smaller bench of the Delhi High Court. to become the law of the land, it needs to be ratified either by the Supreme Court in the form of a judgement, or by the legislature in the form of an amendment of the act itself. secondly, it does not legalize gay marriage. it only decriminalizes homosexuality. it's a step, but a small step. the court appeals to the legislature to come up with a comprehensive law to deal with the issue, as clearly a judgement on section 377 cannot talk about gay marriage. the legislature, however, seems to be content with this limited re-interpretation by the judiciary, and does not seem to have yet formulated any clear policies, let alone any bills, on the matter. gay marriage remains a vexed issue.
well, that's all i had to say about that. it seems to me that society is very unfair to homosexuals, treating it as an offence against nature and a perversion as heinous as sex with a child or an animal. from what i can see, it takes abnormal courage to go against all established norms and take the path less traveled. it's confusing enough to try and figure out your sexual orientation when every societal and parental force is pushing you in one direction, and on top of that to be treated as if there were any choice in the matter is just absurd! it may be a choice for some people, but for many it is just who they were born to be, and to be punished and shunned by society for something that may just be genetic is criminal!!! after all, it's not a teenage rebellion aimed at hurting authority figures, it's a life-altering, painful, difficult decision to make, and deserves all our support! society waxes so eloquent on love - love is blind, love cannot be controlled, predicted or decided, "pyaar kiya nahi jaata ho jaata hai" etc etc. then why can't it see that when a girl falls in love with a girl or a boy with a boy, they are equally helpless in the matter? it's not just a physical act!
i agree, i haven't had to deal with this decision personally, or in any close family member, so maybe i don't know how the parents feel. but seriously parents, get over yourselves and see what your child is going through! i pray that if my time comes, god gives me the strength and vision to be able to support my child through such tough times!
i'm not even going to get into the debate about whether or not homosexuality is morally or ethically "right", because i feel there can be no meeting ground between people who think it's a perversion of nature and those who believe it's as natural as heterosexuality and deserves the same respect.
what i want to talk about today is the legal position. it is quite obvious to any homosexual person that gay marriage is not permitted in India. heck, it's still amazing that inter-religious marriage is allowed! but until recently, homosexuality was actually a crime under the Indian Penal Code, punishable by imprisonment for life or ten years and a fine!
this is how the section reads:
"377. Unnatural offences: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offense described in this section."
a simple reading throws up the following observations:
- this section can only be used against men i.e. lesbianism is not targeted as there is no penetration involved.
- the section does not reveal its intention or the acts it means to prohibit, but in fact uses the very vague wording "against the order of nature". in my view, the section was intended against the biblical sins of sodomy and bestiality, not homosexuality at all. no prohibition of homosexuality would have targeted only male homosexuality and ignored the female, no matter how unacknowledged and under the covers (hehe) such acts may be in society.
- the punishment is severe indeed for what is essentially a private act.
the judgement, though laudable, can only do so much. firstly, it is only binding on district courts and any smaller bench of the Delhi High Court. to become the law of the land, it needs to be ratified either by the Supreme Court in the form of a judgement, or by the legislature in the form of an amendment of the act itself. secondly, it does not legalize gay marriage. it only decriminalizes homosexuality. it's a step, but a small step. the court appeals to the legislature to come up with a comprehensive law to deal with the issue, as clearly a judgement on section 377 cannot talk about gay marriage. the legislature, however, seems to be content with this limited re-interpretation by the judiciary, and does not seem to have yet formulated any clear policies, let alone any bills, on the matter. gay marriage remains a vexed issue.
well, that's all i had to say about that. it seems to me that society is very unfair to homosexuals, treating it as an offence against nature and a perversion as heinous as sex with a child or an animal. from what i can see, it takes abnormal courage to go against all established norms and take the path less traveled. it's confusing enough to try and figure out your sexual orientation when every societal and parental force is pushing you in one direction, and on top of that to be treated as if there were any choice in the matter is just absurd! it may be a choice for some people, but for many it is just who they were born to be, and to be punished and shunned by society for something that may just be genetic is criminal!!! after all, it's not a teenage rebellion aimed at hurting authority figures, it's a life-altering, painful, difficult decision to make, and deserves all our support! society waxes so eloquent on love - love is blind, love cannot be controlled, predicted or decided, "pyaar kiya nahi jaata ho jaata hai" etc etc. then why can't it see that when a girl falls in love with a girl or a boy with a boy, they are equally helpless in the matter? it's not just a physical act!
i agree, i haven't had to deal with this decision personally, or in any close family member, so maybe i don't know how the parents feel. but seriously parents, get over yourselves and see what your child is going through! i pray that if my time comes, god gives me the strength and vision to be able to support my child through such tough times!
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