The Supreme Court dismissed a bunch of petitions seeking a review of its December 11 ruling upholding the validity of Section 377 of the IPC, closing a small window opened by the Delhi high court to permit consensual gay sex between adults in private.
If the gay community and its supporters had criticized the December 11 order of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya, Tuesday’s dismissal of the review petitions filed by the Centre, Naz Foundation, Voices Against Section 377, Shyam Benegal and others will leave them with no option but to look to the government to take the legislative route to amend the penal provision to give them succour.
The Supreme Court bench of Justices H L Dattu and S J Mukhopadhaya passed a terse order, “We have gone through the review pleas and the connected papers. We see no reason to interfere with the order impugned (under challenge). The review petitions are, accordingly, dismissed.”
Petitioners can file curative petition, but may find it hard to establish grounds of breach of principles of natural justice or palpable reflection of bias in the judgment
Or, Parliament can legislate to amend the provision. But this looks unlikely in an election year, with the BJP having already supported Section 377, which makes gay sex illegal
Senior advocate Harish Salve tweeted, “SC has dismissed a review petition against the Sec. 377 petition. Unsurprising. Why did the govt which felt so strongly not change the law? Cases that affect questions of constitutional law of monumental importance HAVE to be heard by 5 judges. Govt did not raise this when the case was being heard. The wisdom of the constitution envisaged 5 judges so that five minds in the least were applied to such issues.”
If the gay community and its supporters had criticized the December 11 order of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya, Tuesday’s dismissal of the review petitions filed by the Centre, Naz Foundation, Voices Against Section 377, Shyam Benegal and others will leave them with no option but to look to the government to take the legislative route to amend the penal provision to give them succour.
The Supreme Court bench of Justices H L Dattu and S J Mukhopadhaya passed a terse order, “We have gone through the review pleas and the connected papers. We see no reason to interfere with the order impugned (under challenge). The review petitions are, accordingly, dismissed.”
Petitioners can file curative petition, but may find it hard to establish grounds of breach of principles of natural justice or palpable reflection of bias in the judgment
Or, Parliament can legislate to amend the provision. But this looks unlikely in an election year, with the BJP having already supported Section 377, which makes gay sex illegal
Senior advocate Harish Salve tweeted, “SC has dismissed a review petition against the Sec. 377 petition. Unsurprising. Why did the govt which felt so strongly not change the law? Cases that affect questions of constitutional law of monumental importance HAVE to be heard by 5 judges. Govt did not raise this when the case was being heard. The wisdom of the constitution envisaged 5 judges so that five minds in the least were applied to such issues.”
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