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Government studying report on Section 377

J. Venkatesan

Law Secretary has said no lacuna found in judgment

New Delhi: In the wake of the Delhi High Court judgment, which decriminalised unnatural sex among consenting adults, the Union government is seriously examining the Law Commission’s report that has recommended deletion of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code by effecting amendments to Sections 375 to 376.

The Commission, in its 172nd report, said there was need to review the sexual offences laws in the light of increased incidents of custodial rape and sexual abuse against youngsters, and among other things, recommended deletingSection 377. The High Court had suggested to the government to examine the Commission’s recommendations.

Highly placed sources in the Law Ministry said the government sought the opinion of Law Secretary T.K. Viswanathan on the verdict and he was understood to have said in his report that no lacuna could be found in the judgment as it had only “read down” Section 377 IPC and decriminalised unnatural sex among consenting adults. He also felt there was no sufficient ground for filing the appeal to the Supreme Court.

The report presented to Law Minister Veerappa Moily would be examined by the Home and Health Ministries before a final decision was taken.

However, even as the matter was being considered by the two Ministries, in the light of the judgment recommending implementation of the Law Commission’s report, the government was considering whether Section 377 could be deleted.

The Law Commission had suggested recasting of Section 375 by redefining it under the head of ‘Sexual Assault’ encompassing all ranges of non-consensual sexual offences/assaults, which in particular penalise not only the sexual intercourse with a woman as in accordance with the current ‘Rape Laws;’ but any non-consensual or non-willing penetration with bodily part or object manipulated by the another person except carried out for proper hygienic or medicinal purposes.

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