India’s Supreme Court is taking another look at a controversial decision that upheld Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a 155-year-old law that criminalizes gay sex.
At issue is the colonial-era law enacted in 1860 that imposes a 10-year prison sentence for “unnatural offenses … against the order of nature.” In 2013, the Supreme Court overturned a landmark ruling by the Delhi High Court in 2009 that decriminalized gay sex. The lower court had ruled that Section 377 violated the fundamental rights guaranteed by India's Constitution. But its decision was challenged by religious groups, and, subsequently, the Supreme Court ruled only Parliament can change the law.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard a “curative petition” against its decision and said it would re-examine the order, calling it a “matter of constitutional importance.” No date has been given for when this will happen, but the issue will be heard by a five-judge panel headed by India’s chief justice.
Activists gathered outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi cheered upon hearing the news, and sang “We shall overcome.”
“It is definitely a move forward,” Anand Grover, a lawyer and longtime campaigner against the law, told Reuters.