India's Top Court Starts Hearing Case on Legalization of Gay Sex
- Section 377 of penal code is a hangover from British-era rule
- Modi government has yet to make its stand clear in top court
Indian members and supporters of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community walk underneath a rainbow flag during a Gay Pride Parade in New Delhi on November 30,2014.
Photographer: Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images
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India’s top court has begun hearing a case that could strike down a 158-year-old colonial-era law that criminalizes gay sex in the world’s second-most populous country.
On Tuesday, a panel of five judges headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra heard legal arguments against Section 377 of the Indian penal code, which bans gay sex. The case could have a wide-ranging impact on how lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens are treated across the subcontinent.