The sexual attraction or the romantic behaviour among people belonging to same sex
group leads to homosexuality. It could be either situational or enduring disposition. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is considered to lie within the heterosexual-homosexual continuum of human sexuality, and refers to an individuals identity based on those attractions and membership in a community of others who share them. Homosexuality is found in many animal species. It is really difficult to determine accurately the prevalence of homosexual nature among
the human beings. However, research and studies suggest that between two and twenty per cent of the population exhibits some degree of homosexual tendency, though in many earlier cultures homosexual relations were highly prevalent. One of the most important points of inclination of our debate is that homosexuality is inborn and is immutable in nature. And in this form only it is widely accepted by the public, provided they are convinced of the fact that the homosexuality is
inborn.
Homosexuality is generally considered a taboo subject by both Indian civil society and the Government. Public discussion of homosexuality in India has been inhibited by the fact that sexuality in any form is rarely discussed openly. In recent years, however, attitudes towards homosexuality have shifted slightly. In particular, there have been more depictions and discussions of homosexuality in the Indian news media and by Bollywood. On 2-7-20091, the Delhi High Court decriminalised homosexual intercourse between consenting adults, throughout India, where Section 377 of the Penal Code, 1860 was adjudged to violate the fundamental right to life and liberty and the right to equality as guaranteed by the Constitution of India.
Historical background The Arthashastra, an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, mentions a wide variety of non-vaginal sexual practices which, whether performed with a man or a woman, were sought to be punished with the lowest grade of fine. While homosexual intercourse was not sanctioned, it was treated as a very minor offence, and several kinds of heterosexual intercourse were punished more severely. The Manusmriti, which lists the oldest codes of conduct that were proposed to be followed by a Hindu, does include mention of homosexual practices, but only as something to be regulated. Though homosexuality was considered a part of sexual practices, it was not always well accepted. There were punishments prescribed for homosexual behaviour.
Present legal status of same sex marriage in India Homosexual intercourse was a criminal offence in India until 2009 under Section 377 of the Penal Code. This made it an offence for a person to voluntarily have carnal intercourse against the order of nature. Whilst convictions under this section were rare, with no convictions at all for homosexual intercourse
in the twenty years to 2009, Human Rights Watch have said that the law was used to harass HIV/AIDS prevention activists, as well as sex workers, men who have sex with men, and other LGBT groups. The group documents arrests in Lucknow of four men in 2006 and another four in 2001. The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties has published two reports of the rights violations faced by sexual minorities and, in particular, transsexuals in India. The Law Commission of India had historically favoured the retention of this section, but in its 172nd report, delivered in 2000 it
recommended its repeal, as did the then Health Minister, Anbumani Ramadoss.
In 2009, in Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi2, the High Court of Delhi struck down much of Section 377 IPC as being unconstitutional. The Court held that to the extent Section 377 criminalised consensual non-vaginal sexual acts between adults, it violated an individuals fundamental rights to equality before the law, freedom from discrimination and to life and personal liberty under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The High Court did not strike down Section 377 completely, it held the section was valid to the extent it related to non consensual non-vaginal intercourse or the intercourse with minors and it expressed the hope that Parliament would soon legislatively address the issue.
In July 2021, the Delhi High Court issued notice to the Centre in a petition seeking a declaration that the right to legal recognition of same-sex marriage is a fundamental right under Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 irrespective of a person’s gender, sex or sexual orientation. The division bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh listed the petition for hearing on August 27 along with similar petitions seeking recognition of same-sex marriages under Hindu Marriage Act, Foreign Marriage Act and Special Marriage Act. The petition was filed by a married same-sex couple Joydeep Sengupta and Russel Blaine Stephens along with queer rights activist activist Mario Leslie Dpenha.
Stating that consensual sexual acts between persons of the same sex have already been decriminalized by the Supreme Court of India in Navtej Singh Johar, the petition contends that “even though Indian law is silent on the recognition of same sex marriages, it is a settled principle that where a marriage has been solemnized in a foreign jurisdiction, the law to be applied to such marriage or matrimonial disputes is the law of that jurisdiction. Thus, a marriage like that of Petitioners Nos.1 and 2, being validly registered under US law, must necessarily meet the requirements of the term ‘registered’ under Section 7A(1)(d) of the Citizenship Act”. The petition also seeks a declaration that the exclusion of same-sex marriages under the Foreign Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act violates Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
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