Live Updates: Govt urges SC to stick to constitutionality of Section 377

Follow for updates as a five judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India continues hearing a batch of writ petitions by LGBT persons challenging the constitutionality of Section 377

Photo by Saikat Paul/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Photo by Saikat Paul/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
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NH Web Desk

12 Jul 2018, 2:58 PM

Section 377 hearing concludes for the day; repondents will be heard for an hour on Tuesday, July 17; reports Bar & Bench

12 Jul 2018, 2:57 PM

Advocate Manoj George submits that Centre did not support private bill for scrapping Section 377, but in Court Centre taking different stand. CJI responds "irrelevant"; reports Live Law

12 Jul 2018, 2:56 PM

When an advocate for respondents submits that private bill on Section 377 got defeated, court says doesn't matter, 377 can still be assailed on the parameters of Part III; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 2:55 PM

Section 377: Respondents argue that too wide a reading of fundamental rights will violate directive principles of state policy. They also said that no one can say that they have a right to commit a crime; reports SFLC

12 Jul 2018, 2:54 PM

Section 377: Respondents submit that theirs is the voice of dissent and parliament should only bring about amendment to the IPC if required; reports SFLC


12 Jul 2018, 2:53 PM

Advocate Manoj George who is appearing for two Christian associations supporting Section 377, says many senior advocates refused to represent them due to human rights issues surrounding this debate; reports SFLC

12 Jul 2018, 2:51 PM

Lawyer appearing for Respondents says three private bills moved in parliament to strike down Section 377 were defeated; says IPC falls in concurrent list, if states wanted to amend s377, they could have; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 2:50 PM

Section 377: Justice DY Chandrachud says no U-turn by govt, points out that Delhi HC judgement wasn't challenged; reports The Leaflet

12 Jul 2018, 2:49 PM

Section 377: Lawyer appearing for Respondents says that 'U turn' of government on this issue is of concern to several parties; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 2:48 PM

Section 377: Lawyer appearing for Respondents 16 & 18 says that Union of India (Central Govt.) has taken a U-Turn in this case; reports Live Law

12 Jul 2018, 2:47 PM

CJI Dipak Misra reminds respondents that the petitioners argued on fundamental rights and urged them to do the same; reports SFLC


12 Jul 2018, 2:46 PM

Section 377: A counsel for respondents says that Judeo Christian world view has been attacked in this petition; reports The Leaflet

12 Jul 2018, 2:45 PM

Section 377: Since the petitioners mentioned that 5-8% of the population are homosexuals, therefore we represent the majority of 95% of the population, argue the respondents; reports SFLC


12 Jul 2018, 2:44 PM

Lawyer supporting Section 377 argues that each organ has an assigned function and when organs which are not meant for reproductive functions are used for sexual pleasure it goes against "order of nature"; reports Live Law

12 Jul 2018, 2:44 PM

Section 377: Advocate Manoj George appearing for intervenors seeks equitable time for making submissions. No, no, says CJI Dipak Misra; reports Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 2:43 PM

Section 377 requires penetration, therefore woman to woman acts are not prohibited under this section, argues a counsel for respondents; reports SFLC

12 Jul 2018, 2:41 PM

Advocate Manoj George making submissions for intervenors in support of Section 377; reports Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 2:38 PM

Section 377: Mouth is an organ to eat and anus is organ for excretion. These are not sexual organs. Therefore, such acts are against biology and against the order of nature, argued one of the respondents; reports SFLC

12 Jul 2018, 2:36 PM

Justice DY Chandrachud to one counsel arguing for retaining Section 377: "Look at some liberal Constitutions. We will point out some countries on map where you need to look at"; reports Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 2:35 PM

Section 377: CJI Dipak Misra CJI says in response to a lawyer arguing for Respondents that no one has argued about sex with animals and rightly so; reports Live Law

12 Jul 2018, 2:34 PM

Section 377: Third intervenor says that carnal intercourse against order of nature, this is why 'legislature' used the term carnal and not sexual intercourse; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 2:33 PM

Section 377: CJI Dipak Misra "We do not follow majoritarian morality, we are guided by constitutional morality"; reports SFLC

12 Jul 2018, 2:32 PM

Section 377: A counsel for intervenor seeks for public opinion on the issue. CJI tells her constitutional issues aren't decided by referendum; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 2:31 PM

CJI Dipak Misra says court to examine whether Section 377 satisfies Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21; reports The Leaflet

12 Jul 2018, 2:30 PM

ASG Tushar Mehta submits that Puttaswamy (privacy) judgment cannot be interpreted to mean that Section 377 should exclude bestiality; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 2:29 PM

ASG Tushar Mehta submits that the constitutionality of Section 377 cannot be decided on basis of individual perceptions so references to book Shikhandi by Devdutt Pattnaik may not be of much relevance; reports Live Law

12 Jul 2018, 2:26 PM

Section 377: ASG Tushar Mehta urges apex court to stick to constitutionality of the provision


12 Jul 2018, 2:25 PM

Section 377: ASG Tushar Mehta appearing for Union of India (Central Govt) submits that material cited by Sr Adv Ashok Desai is obscene and scandalous; reports SFLC

12 Jul 2018, 2:24 PM

Section 377: ASG Tushar Mehta says every act other than 377 has its objectives, refers to Devdutt Patnaik's book Shikhandi and asks court to go through it; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 2:22 PM

Section 377: ASG Tushar Mehta, representing Central Government, begins his submissions

12 Jul 2018, 2:21 PM

Section 377: Sr Adv Krishnan Venugopal reads article 1 of declaration of human rights, says expression 'Unapprehended felon' fails to capture the impact on rights of LGBT persons, concludes his arguments; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 2:19 PM

Section 377: Sr Adv Krishnan Venugopal in his argument re-emphasises point made by Menaka Guruswamy that Section 377 prevents LGBT from exercising freedom of association and hence violates Article 19 (Fundamental Right to free speech, including association); reports Bar & Bench

12 Jul 2018, 2:15 PM

Section 377: Sr Adv Krishnan Venugopal empahises on Delhi High Court's Naz foundation judgment to emphasise on constitutional versus public morality; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 2:14 PM

Sr Adv Krishnan Venugopal: "Section 377 offers a legal basis to suppress alternate sexuality"; reports Bar & Bench

12 Jul 2018, 2:12 PM

Sr Adv Krishnan Venugopal says by targetting conduct, Section 377 actually targets identity. LGBT persons cannot express themselves and Art. 19(1)(a) protects all rights to dress, choose partner and express their personality. Therefore Section 377 violates freedom of speech; reports SFLC


12 Jul 2018, 2:10 PM

Section 377 hearing resumes: Sr Adv Krishnan Venugopal making submissions about how thr provision is used to harass LGBT persons who don't speak up due to stigma and societal perceptions; reports Bar & Bench

12 Jul 2018, 2:10 PM

Top tweets on Section377: The day rights of all LGBT+ Indians were laughed out of Parliament


12 Jul 2018, 1:03 PM

Section 377: Supreme Court Constitution bench rises for lunch; hearing to continue at 2 pm

12 Jul 2018, 1:02 PM

Sr Adv Krishna Venugopal begins his argument, says right to freedom of expression and conscience are violated by Section 377 IPC; reports Live Law


12 Jul 2018, 12:53 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Ashok Desai says court needs to recognise concept of fraternity, LGBT community is humiliated very terribly; reports The Leaflet

12 Jul 2018, 12:49 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Ashok Desai is arguing for the recognition to LGBTQ on the principle of fraternity, reports Live Law


12 Jul 2018, 12:49 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Ashok Desai places reliances on Puttaswamy [privacy] and NALSA (transgender rights), Subramanian Swamy judgments; reports Bar & Bench

12 Jul 2018, 12:48 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Ashok Desai says even England has abolished criminalisation of same sex relations, says in fact they apologised [to LGBT community], reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 12:47 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Ashok Desai refers to an article written by late ex HC judge Leila Seth whose son is a homosexual. She had said my son is a criminal as per law said Desai, while talking about stigma; reports Live Law

12 Jul 2018, 12:46 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Ashok Desai argues that same sex relationship has always been accepted by Indian civilisation; reports Live Law


12 Jul 2018, 12:43 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Ashok Desai traces the treatment of homosexuals by various ancient civilisations and submits on how perception towards homosexuality changed with the coming of Abrahamic faiths; reports Bar & Bench

12 Jul 2018, 12:33 PM

Senior Advocate Ashok Desai commences his arguments on behalf of petitioners, uses the words "utter chaos" created by Section 377; reports Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 12:26 PM

ASG Tushar Mehta opposes Senior Advocate Anand Grover saying gay couples not allowed to adopt, says this issue is not before the court and the discussion should not expand beyond Section 377 IPC; reports Live Law

12 Jul 2018, 12:25 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Chandra Uday Singh seeks declaration from court against discrimination against LGBT and concludes his submissions; reports Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 12:24 PM

Senior Advocate Chandra Uday Singh tells court "having faced criminalisation for over 160 years, it is a huge step to strike Section 377 down. But whenever there has been historical deep-rooted discrimination, then State has resorted to affirmative action" reports Bar & Bench

12 Jul 2018, 12:22 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Chandra Uday Singh says court needs to take affirmative actions to undo the discrimination done to LGBT community; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 12:21 PM

Section 377: Justice Rohinton F Nariman Rohinton asks Sr Adv C U Singh to refer to section 30 of Mental Healthcare Act, J Nariman terms this section as very innovative on the part of Parliament; reports The Leaflet

12 Jul 2018, 12:20 PM

Justice DY Chandrachud: "We have created a societal environment that creates a discrimination of these individuals. If Section 377 goes let's hope such societal stigmas change"; reports Live Law


12 Jul 2018, 12:19 PM

Advocate Menaka Guruswamy replies to CJI clarifying that because homosexuals have not been allowed to exist, as per Section 377, therefore there were no other laws required to prohibit their actions; reports SFLC

12 Jul 2018, 12:18 PM

Section 377: Sr Adv CU Singh tells CJI decriminalising is a great step and needed but not enough for removing discrimination against LGBTQ community; reports Live Law


12 Jul 2018, 12:16 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Anand Grover interjects, says "Under matrimonial laws, consent is for heterosexuals. Gays couples cannot adopt in India"; reports Live Law

12 Jul 2018, 12:14 PM

Section 377: CJI Dipak Misra asks if there is any law, byelaw or anything that prohibits homosexuality; Advocate Menaka Guruswamy says no prohibition, but the Domestic Violence Act talks only about heterosexual marriage; reports Live Law


12 Jul 2018, 12:12 PM

Section 377: CJI Dipak Misra "LGBT community face stigma because of criminality attached to their sexual orientation" reports The Leaflet

12 Jul 2018, 12:11 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Chandra Uday Singh asks if Parliament recognises that sexual orientation cannot be ground for discrimination for mental health treatment, then can it be any different when it comes to other issues; reports Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 12:10 PM

Section 377: Justice DY Chandrachud says Articles 15 and 21 imbibe the standard of reasonableness for contemporary society, which has also been recognised by Parliament; reports SFLC

12 Jul 2018, 12:09 PM

Section 377: Justice DY Chandrachud refers to Section 21a of Mental Healthcare Act which expressly prohibits discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation, says "So Parliament itself now recognises them"; reports Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 12:08 PM

Section 377: Justice DY Chandrachud also intervenes and says LGBT community suffers a lot of health problems; reports Live Law

12 Jul 2018, 12:07 PM

Justice Indu Malhotra makes strong case against Section 377, says "[LGBT] community feels inhibited to go for medical aid due to prejudices against them"; reports Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 12:06 PM

Section 377: Justice Indu Malhotra says "It is not human beings alone who indulge in homosexual acts, many animals also show homosexual behaviour; It is not an aberration but a variation"; reports Bar & Bench

12 Jul 2018, 12:05 PM

Section 377: Justice Indu Malhotra says "Because of family pressures, societal pressures etc. [LGBT] are forced to marry opposite sex and it leads to bi-sexuality and other mental trauma" reports Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 12:04 PM

Section 377: Justice Indu Malhotra says "Homosexuals face a lot of pressure from parents and society; so they are forced to lead heterosexual life"; reports Live Law

12 Jul 2018, 12:03 PM

Section 377: CJI Dipak Misra after reading written submission of Sr Adv CU Singh says that he understands homosexuality isn't mental disorder but a natural orientation; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 12:02 PM

Section 377: Justice Indu Malhotra says because of societal and family pressure LGBT community is finding it difficult to come out. This gives rise to bisexuality; reports The Leaflet

12 Jul 2018, 12:00 PM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Chandra Uday Singh tells Constitution bench he will argue on medical health aspect; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 11:59 AM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Chandra Uday Singh appearing on behalf of mental health professionals, intervenors in the case, continues for the petitioners; reports SFLC

12 Jul 2018, 11:58 AM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Shyam Divan says Supreme Court ought not to have recriminalised consensual same sex relations under Section 377, says this had a retrogative effect on society, and completes his submissions; reports SFLC


12 Jul 2018, 11:57 AM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Shyam Divan "This is an opportune moment for the Court to issue additional declarations [aside from striking down Section 377]"; reports Bar & Bench

12 Jul 2018, 11:55 AM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Shyam Divan refers to Supreme Court Judgment in Hadiya case. He urges court to read Right to intimacy in Article 21 of the Constitution; reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 11:53 AM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Shyam Divan talks about right to intimacy as under Art. 21 and goes onto quote a judgment from the South African Constitutional court, which says privacy allows you to maintain intimate relationships in your private life, reports SFLC

12 Jul 2018, 11:52 AM

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan says Mr Gautam Bhan testifies to the fact that Section 377 makes him feel “like a second class citizen in my own country", reports The Leaflet


12 Jul 2018, 11:50 AM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Shyam Divan "Positive content in Article 14 requires declaration that no person may be discriminated against with respect to education, housing, employment, health care, etc under Article 15(2), the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity", reports The Leaflet

12 Jul 2018, 11:47 AM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Shyam Divan arguing on positive dimension of Article 14 (Fundamental Right to Equality); reports Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 11:44 AM

Day 3 of Section 377 hearing begins; Senior Advocate Shyam Divan continues submissions for Voices Against 377

12 Jul 2018, 11:40 AM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Shyam Divan appearing for intervenor Voices Against 377 is arguing that the time has come to declare "Right to Intimacy" as a part of "Right to Life" under Article 21 of the Constitution of India


12 Jul 2018, 11:28 AM

Top tweets on Section 377: Shashi Tharoor "The argument against Sec 377 is not about sex, but about freedom. Why is the BJP betraying Hindu tradition to defend a Victorian code imposed on us by British colonialists?"

12 Jul 2018, 11:14 AM

READ: The Central Government's affidavit in Section 377 case, published by Bar & Bench


12 Jul 2018, 11:11 AM

READ: Written submissions of Advocate Jayna Kothari appearing for transgender rights activist Akkai Padmashali in Section 377 case, published by Live Law India

12 Jul 2018, 11:10 AM

READ: Written submissions of Senior Advocate Shyam Divan appearing for Voices Against 377 in Section 377 case, published by Live Law India


12 Jul 2018, 11:10 AM

READ: Written submissions of Advocate Menaka Guruswamy appearing for LGBT IITians in Section 377 case, published by Live Law India

12 Jul 2018, 11:08 AM

Top tweets on Section 377: "Sects unite to save Section 377"


12 Jul 2018, 11:05 AM

Section 377: Senior Advocate Shyam Divan will continue arguments for intervenor Voices Against 377, whose curative petition in Suresh Kumar Koushal vs Naz Foundation is pending before SC

12 Jul 2018, 11:04 AM

Hearing on Section 377 to begin at 11.30 am in Court No. 1, CJI's Court


12 Jul 2018, 10:57 AM

READ: Congress slams Modi Govt for not taking stand on Section 377 in SC

Congress on July 11 slammed Modi government for not taking a stand on decriminalising consensual same sex relations under Section 377, claiming the government believes in “such draconian laws”

12 Jul 2018, 10:57 AM

READ: Menaka Guruswamy: LGBT Indians deserve protection of their court, their constitution, their country

The sheer force of Menaka Guruswamy’s arguments on July 11 seemed to rip through the tangles of legal discourse and force the Supreme Court to confront the human cost of Section 377


12 Jul 2018, 10:55 AM

Links to NH live blogs on Day 1 and Day 2 of Supreme Court hearing on Section 377

Catch up with all developments in the Supreme Court on day 1 of the Section 377 hearing here

All developments on day 2 of the Section 377 hearing in the Supreme Court here

12 Jul 2018, 10:54 AM

Welcome to National Herald's Live Blog on Day 3 of historic hearings by the Supreme Court, of writ petitions by LGBT persons challenging the constitutionality of Section 377 IPC

Follow for updates as a five judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India continues hearing a batch of writ petitions by LGBT persons challenging the constitutionality of Section 377 on Thursday, July 12.

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