Violation of human rights, says petitioners' counsel as SC hears pleas against Section 377

"As society changes, values change," Mukul Rohatgi, the counsel for the petitioners' against Section 377, which says homosexuality is a crime, told the Supreme Court today.

"What was moral 160 years ago might not be moral today," Rohatgi added.

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the central government, replied: "... section 377 is a question of law."

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The Supreme Court began hearing a clutch of petitions against Section 377 Tuesday. The government had asked for a deferment but the court refused its request.

Section 377 had been struck down by the Delhi High Court in 2009. The court called the law "unconstitutional".

But, in December 2013, the high court's judgement was set aside by the Supreme Court. The country's top court passed the buck onto the government, saying Parliament was responsible for the making and changing of laws.

In January this year, however, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the petitions against Section 377. The people who filed them said the law created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in the country.

The petitions have been filed by, among others, the NGO Naz Foundation, parents of gay people, and Voices Against 377, a collective of human rights groups. The Naz Foundation had filed the original petition that led to the Delhi High Court's 2009 judgement.

"Section 377 violates one's human rights," Rohatgi said in the Supreme Court Tuesday.

"This is a case of constitutional morality vs others," he added. "This case has a large ramification."