-Outlook The National Crime Records Bureau, the country's central repository for tabulating data related to criminal incidents, will soon begin collating data related to offences recorded under section 377 (unnatural sex) of IPC as it prepares a new format to be sent to states. The NCRB, which was set up in 1986, will undertake the activity for the first time in its history and the move has been cleared by the Union...
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The wrongness of deference-Arghya Sengupta
-The Hindu In upholding the constitutionality of section 377 of the IPC the Supreme Court has made a judgment that is value-laden, based on a particular worldview that many disagree with The Supreme Court, in its judgment in Suresh Kumar Koushal and another v. NAZ Foundation and others (Civil Appeal No. 10972 of 2013) upholding the constitutionality of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, has been widely perceived to have espoused...
More »Gay sex law raises mental health fears -GS Mudur
-The Telegraph The 153-year-old law that criminalises gay sex is likely contributing to hidden depression and possibly even substance abuse among homosexuals, mental health professionals campaigning for its repeal have said. The experts have said the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this week re-criminalising gay sex could lead to a surge in depression levels across the community. They have cited international studies that point to higher levels of mental health problems among gay...
More »UN human rights chief dismayed as India re-criminalizes same-sex relationships
-The United Nations The United Nations human rights chief today voiced her disappointment at the re-criminalization of consensual same-sex relationships in India, calling it "a significant step backwards" for the country. In a decision announced yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld a colonial-era law, section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which provides for the punishment of those found guilty of "unnatural offences." "Criminalising private, consensual same-sex sexual conduct violates the rights to privacy...
More »Brushed aside: medical evidence
-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court order upholding a 153-year-old law that effectively criminalises gay sex has ignored scientific evidence that homosexuality is not deviant in any sense, but merely a variation in human sexual behaviour, experts and lawyers have said. The court has virtually "brushed aside" submissions by medical experts that homosexuality is not a mental health disorder and should not be viewed as a criminal activity, said lawyers...
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