SC starts hearing pleas against Section 377 which says homosexuality is a crime

The Supreme Court has gone ahead with the scheduled hearing by a constitution bench on petitions against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that makes homosexuality a crime.

The five-judge Bench — headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and comprising Justices R.F. Nariman, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra — will examine a batch of petitions claiming that the 2013 judgment was wrong.

The apex court had rejected the central government's plea for deferring the hearing on petitions against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

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The bench will hear six petitions and interventions filed by the NGO Naz Foundation, parents of gay people, Voices Against 377, a collective of human rights groups, among others.

In all, 35 individuals have come before the court, which signals a growing confidence in the community to come out in the public eye and claim their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Section 377 refers to "unnatural offences" and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse "against the order of nature" with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.