SC defers hearing on decriminalisation of gay sex

A bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi adjourned the matter without specifying the date of the next hearing and said the same would be taken up after the summer vacation.

The apex court was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by gay rights activists and also by political, social and religious organisations, which have supported and opposed the Delhi high court verdict decriminalising homosexual behaviour.

People and organisations from different fields have come out in support for or against the path-breaking verdict of the Delhi high court which had sparked a controversy.

Several political, social and religious outfits have asked the Supreme Court to give the final verdict on the issue.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader B P Singhal, who had opposed the high court legalisation on gay sex, has challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, saying such acts are illegal, immoral and against the ethos of Indian culture.

Religious organisations like the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Utkal Christian Council and Apostolic Churches Alliance have opposed the high court's verdict.

Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Right, Tamil Nadu Muslim Munn Kazhgam, astrologer Suresh Kumar Kaushal and yoga guru Ramdev have also opposed the verdict in the apex court.