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Notices on legal sanctity to homosexuality

Staff Reporter

Respondents asked to file their replies by July 19

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the National AIDS Control Organisation and the Delhi Government on a public interest litigation seeking legal sanction to homosexuality through repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) whereby the practice of unnatural sex has been made a criminal offence and punishable with imprisonment up to ten years.

Issuing the notices, a Division Bench comprising Justice Vijender Jain and Justice S.N. Aggarwal asked the respondents to file their replies by July 19.

The matter has come to the High Court from the Supreme Court that had last month asked the High Court to hear the matter afresh.

The petitioner, Naaz Foundation, had approached the Supreme Court following dismissal of its petition in the High Court in February 2004.

The Naaz Foundation is a voluntary organisation working among sex workers here to make them aware about the AIDS hazards.

Dismissing the petition, a Division Bench comprising Justice B.C. Patel (since retired) and Justice B.D. Ahmed had said that since no cause of action had arisen, the petition could not be filed just to test the validity of the law.

The Union Government had also opposed the petition submitting that if the relevant Section were deleted, it would open the floodgates of delinquent behaviour and be misconstrued as providing an unbridled licence for the same.

The organisation had sought striking down of the penal provision saying that it was violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Fundamental Rights.

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