Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Centre gives ASG the thumbs down by J Venkatesan

Centre gives ASG the thumbs down by J Venkatesan

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Mar 3, 2012   modified Modified on Mar 3, 2012

The Union Home Ministry on Friday disowned Additional Solicitor-General P.P. Malhotra's averments in the Supreme Court in the homosexuality case and said the government's stand was not what he argued on February 23. He said homosexuality between two consenting adults was immoral and an offence.

Soon after Mr. Malhotra made his submissions before a Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhaya that day, another ASG Mohan Jain told the court that he had instructions from Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati that the government's stand was otherwise. “Mr. Malhotra had argued that the [Delhi] High Court judgment in the case of NAZ Foundation pertaining to Section 377 of Indian Penal Code is not sustainable.”(The judgment decriminalised sex between consenting adults.)

The Supreme Court Bench on February 28 asked Mr. Jain to incorporate the recommendations made by a Group of Ministers and the decision taken by the Cabinet on this issue, and file a proper affidavit. Accordingly Home Secretary R.K. Singh filed it on Friday.

The Home Secretary said the GoM consisting of the Home Minister, the Law Minister and the Health Minister, at a meeting on July 28, 2009, recommended to the Cabinet that the government might submit before the Supreme Court that, “The High Court has not struck down the entire Section 377 IPC. The High Court has interpreted Section 377 IPC and read down the Section so that it is consistent with Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. The correctness of the judgment has been questioned in an appeal before the Supreme Court… There does not appear to be any legal error in the judgment and the Supreme Court may take a final view whether the judgment of the High Court is legally correct or not.”

The affidavit said the Cabinet on September 17, 2009 considered the GoM recommendations and decided to request the Attorney-General to assist the Supreme Court in arriving at an opinion on the correctness of the High Court judgment. It made it clear that the government had not filed any appeal against the judgment.

Now the Supreme Court has to decide whether the arguments advanced by ASG Malhotra, in contravention of the Cabinet decision, are to be taken into consideration or not, and under what authority a law officer can argue against a Cabinet decision. The court has also to see whether the documents produced by Mr. Jain were authorised by the Home and Health Ministries and whether these are to be taken into consideration after the filing of the affidavit to this effect by the Home Secretary.

The Hindu, 3 March, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2956026.ece


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close