Jan 08, 2018 22:44:43 (IST)
Individuals shouldn't live in a state of fear, says Supreme Court
News agency PTI reported the Supreme Court as saying that people or individuals who exercise their choice should never "remain in a state of fear".
A bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, said in a detailed order that the issue of criminalising consensual gay sex needed to be debated upon by a larger bench.
The bench also referred to the term in Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which is "carnal intercourse against the order of nature", and said that "the determination of order of nature is not a constant phenomenon".
The bench also said that social morality changes from age to age.
"What is natural to one may not be natural to the other but the said natural orientation and choice cannot be allowed to cross the boundaries of law and as the confines of law cannot tamper or curtail the inherent right embedded in an individual under Article 21 of the Constitution," the bench said.
News agency PTI reported the Supreme Court as saying that people or individuals who exercise their choice should never "remain in a state of fear".
A bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, said in a detailed order that the issue of criminalising consensual gay sex needed to be debated upon by a larger bench.
The bench also referred to the term in Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which is "carnal intercourse against the order of nature", and said that "the determination of order of nature is not a constant phenomenon".
The bench also said that social morality changes from age to age.
"What is natural to one may not be natural to the other but the said natural orientation and choice cannot be allowed to cross the boundaries of law and as the confines of law cannot tamper or curtail the inherent right embedded in an individual under Article 21 of the Constitution," the bench said.