New Delhi: S.Q.R. Ilyas, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which had filed a petition in the case asking that the lower court ruling be reversed, praised Wednesday’s ruling.
“These relationships are unethical as well as unnatural,” Ilyas said. “They create problems in society, both moral and social. This is a sin as far as Islam is concerned.”
India has a rich history of eunuchs and transgender people who serve critical roles in important social functions and whose blessings are eagerly sought. Transgender people often approach cars sitting at traffic lights here and ask for money, and many Indians — fearing a powerful curse if they refuse — hand over small bills.
Despite this history, Indians are in the main deeply conservative about issues of sexuality and morality. Surveys show wide disapproval of homosexuality, and Indians on average still have few sexual partners throughout their lives.
The pressure to marry, have children and conform to traditional notions of family and caste can be overwhelming in many communities. Indian weddings are raucous and communal affairs. So gays are often forced to live double lives.
Asian nations typically take a more restrictive view toward gay sex than western countries. In China, gay sex is not explicitly outlawed but people can be arrested under ill-defined laws like licentiousness.
The law banning gay sex is rarely enforced in India, but the police sometimes use it to bully and intimidate gays. In rare cases, health charities that hand out condoms to gays to help prevent the spread of HIV and Aids have seen their work interrupted because such efforts are technically illegal.
But inspired by gay rights efforts elsewhere, activists in India have in recent years sought to assert their rights, holding marches and pushing for greater recognition.
Religious organisations like All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Utkal Christian Council and Apostolic Churches Alliance had challenged the judgement.