Source: AFP

Indian court rules gay sex legal

By Elizabeth Roche – 8 hours ago

NEW DELHI (AFP) — New Delhi's highest court issued a landmark ruling Thursday that decriminalised gay sex between consenting adults in India by declaring a colonial-era ban on homosexuality unconstitutional.

The decision by the Delhi High Court was hailed by gay activists here as a historic step in their struggle to achieve equal rights in a conservative society that largely regards homosexuality as a taboo illness.

The court ruled that the existing ban on homosexual acts was discriminatory and therefore a violation of individual rights guaranteed by the constitution.

Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1860 under a statute introduced by British colonial rulers that banned "carnal intercourse against the order of nature." Conviction carried a fine and maximum 10-year jail sentence.

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