Clash over gay rights in SC set to snowball

Source: Hindustan Times
Samar Halarnkar
New Delhi, February 20, 2010
First Published: 21:19 IST(20/2/2010)

Using fresh arguments that range from imperiling India’s defence to making its people delusional, 14 new organisations have joined the final legal battle against the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

On Saturday, the number of petitioners in the Supreme Court - challenging the July 2009 decision of the Delhi High Court to strike down an anti-sodomy law - stood at 16 from the original two.

Two Christian church coalitions, three Muslim NGOs, two Hindu astrologers, a disciple of yoga guru Baba Ramdev, an NGO run by a former Delhi police officer, and an environmentalist, will be among those in the Supreme Court when it hears an appeal next month against the overturning of the Indian Penal Code’ section 377.

Only one person, film director and Rajya Sabha MP Shyam Benegal, has quietly joined the original petitioner, Delhi NGO Naz Foundation, in support of gay rights in the Supreme Court.

With the government saying it will not oppose the Delhi High Court judgement, which experts consider legally strong, the new opponents are readying a range of fresh arguments:

· “Medical opinion” that only the vagina has the muscles required for sex, not the anus (Utkal Christian Foundation, Cuttack)

· Expanding the constitutional right to non-discrimination to include sexual orientation could lead to demands for job reservations (Apostolic Churches Alliance, Thiruvananthapuram)

· Indian cultural morality maybe ready for homosexuality in “50 or 100 years”, not today (Raza Academy, Mumbai)
Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party, Prof Bhim Singh, said in his petition that the Delhi High Court ruling would be “a disaster for the Indian defence forces and the security of the country… in deserted areas”.

“Seedlings of homosexuality developed among the (European and US) soldiers during the first and the second world war when they had to stay back in the forests and the hills for years without having any access to meet their sexual desires,” said Singh, whose party otherwise fights for the reorganisation of J&K.

“My challenge of the (Delhi) high court judgement is that it should not have relied on foreign judgements,” said Mushtaq Ahmed, counsel for Mumbai’s Raza Academy, a 32-year-old Islamic advocacy group. “We can’t impose a foreign cultural morality today.”

From Cuttack, B D Das, counsel for the Utkal Christian Foundation, a coalition of Orissa churches, said the decriminalisation of homosexuality had already led gay couples to request church marriages.
“Of course we have not given permission,” said Das, referring to homosexuality as a “biblical sin”.

“Earlier, it (gay marriage) was criminal, so they would not dare to ask.”
Recognising these widespread sensitivities, normally vocal gay, lesbian and transgender activists are staying under the radar. They will stick to the high court’s stress on constitutional rights of an individual over public morality and not expand arguments to subjects like marriage and employment.

“Our energies are focused on safeguarding the decision in the Supreme Court,” said Gautam Bhan, spokesperson of “Voices against 377″, a coalition of gay rights organisations.

The old arguments, made by former right-wing Member of Parliament B.P. Singhal and an NGO called the Joint Action Council, Kannur (in Kerala), have been reformulated as well. These focus on the religious opposition to homosexuality, threat to “public morality” and what opponents argue is its “unnatural” nature.

“(The) High Court decision will protect consensual unnatural sexual acts even when they are obtained by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, causing fear, intoxication or due to unsoundness of mind,” argued S K Gupta, a disciple of yoga guru Ramdev, and representative of Delhi’s Patanjali Yogpeeth.

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), run by former police officer Amod Kanth, said the high court had not considered adoption of children by homosexual couples and the concept of family and parenthood.

“The judgement will cause ‘value disorientation’ and torment children,” said DCPCR secretary R C Gupta, “leading to identity crisis, social physical and psychological maladaptation in society.”

“It is an established medical theory that AIDS spread in human beings through monkeys in African countries. Though not established, there are certain theories that state that unnatural sex with animals can be one of the causes.

“It is submitted that unnatural acts always come with curse from nature, as AIDS in the present form and therefore it deserves to be curbed with strong hands (sic).”

Against:
Apostolic Churches Alliance
All India Muslim Personal Law Board
S K Gupta, Patanjali Yogpeeth
B Krishna Bhat, environmentalist
Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights
Utkal Christian Council
Krantikari Manuvadi Morcha Party
Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam
Suresh Kumar, Mukesh Kumar Koushal, astrologers
(does not include all petitioners)

For:
Naz Foundation
Shyam Benegal, film director

India’s Supreme Court accepts challenge to ruling on gay sex

By Jessica Geen • July 14, 2009 - 13:49
SOURCE:  Pinknews
India’s Supreme Court is considering whether to rule on the petition
No Comments Yet on India’s Supreme Court accepts challenge to ruling on gay sex

The Indian Supreme Court has agreed to consider a petition against a lower court’s ruling that homosexuality should be decriminalised.

Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court ruled that the colonial-era law was unconstitutional.

The petition was filed by Sushil Kumar Kaushal, described as a “Hindu astrologer”. He argued that if gay sex is legalised, “tomorrow people might seek permission for having sex with animals”.

His petition also claimed that the judgement would result in a further spread of HIV/AIDS.

Kaushal’s lawyer Pravin Agarwal cited reports of seven gay marriages having taken place in India since the ruling.

The Supreme Court responded that the ruling had not mentioned marriage and referred only to sexual acts between consenting adults.

It will decide by July 20th whether to rule on the merits of the challenge.

Days after Kaushal’s challenge, a yoga guru filed a similar challenge saying homosexuality was a “disease” and could be cured by yoga.

According to the Indian Express, Swami Baba Ramdev said: “It can be treated like any other congenital defect. Such tendencies can be treated by yoga, pranayama (breathing exercises) and other meditation techniques.”

Ramdev is an influential figure among middle-class Hindu families, who regularly watch his health programmes on television. According to previous reports, he has made various claims as to the benefits of yoga, saying it can cure diseases such as AIDS, cancer and leukemia.

SC likely to hear on Thursday a plea against allowing gay sex

Wednesday, July 8, 2009
SOURCE:  The Hindu

New Delhi (PTI) The Supreme Court is likely to hear on Thursday a petition filed by an astrologer challenging the Delhi High Court’s verdict legalising gay sex.

The petition filed by Suresh Kumar Kaushal has sought quashing of July 2 verdict of the High Court legalising gay sex between consenting adults in private, which was earlier a criminal offence punishable with upto life imprisonmnet.

Mr. Kaushal said the petition, which will come for hearing during the mentioning hour, contended that homosexual acts, by all standards, was an unnatural act and it could not be permitted.

“No one can imagine the consequences of the unnatural acts. Even animals don’t indulge in such activities,” Mr. Kaushal said in his petition.

He said the High Court judgment would result in spread of HIV virus as “it has been amply proved that the HIV virus is a result of unnatural sex.”

“We have to look at our own scriptures to seek guidance from them and it is against such behaviour in our society,” he said.

“If such abnormality is permitted, then tomorrow people might seek permission for having sex with animals,” he said.

The High Court, in a landmark verdict, legalised gay sex among consenting adults.

Indian gay ‘marriage’ follows legal ruling

08/07/2009 - 16:35:12
SOURCE:  Ireland On-Line

Just a week after a New Delhi court decriminalised homosexuality, the first gay “marriage” has taken place in India.

Amrit and Jeeta, both 18, decided to get married following the landmark judgment which changed a 148-year-old British colonial-era ruling that made homosexual sex a punishable offence.

However, the verdict can still be challenged in India’s Supreme Court.

“I was so delighted after the court’s verdict that we both decided to get married,” Jeeta said after the ceremony at the Shiridi temple in the north Indian city of Chandigarh.

“We had been facing discrimination in public, at the work place and at home. But things may look up for people like us now.” The couple fell in love about three months ago, but have been facing opposition from a traditionally conservative society.

Muslim and Hindu groups have united in opposing the court ruling and are now trying to convince other religious associations to join in their resistance.

A Vishwa Hindu Parishad activist today told the Press Association: “This is not our culture and I don’t know why people allowed this to happen.

“After the Delhi High Court verdict, it seems that it has become a fashion to champion gay rights.There should be strong resistance and we will challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court” Jeeta’s mother reportedly refuses to accept her son’s sexual orientation. “He is not a homosexual and is employed with a pharmaceutical factory,” she said.

His partner Amrit, however, said he felt “alive” after his decision to get married. “I will be calling a few selected friends [for the reception] who encouraged us in this bold step.

“But it will be open, with no fear of anyone. There are so many like us who secretly love each other,” he told Indian newspaper the Times of India.

“Few have the courage to get married. Maybe this step of ours can motivate the rest of the community to break the fetters of society,” he added.

Nepal Jumps Ahead on Gay and Transgender Rights

by Bhumika Ghimire

SOURCE:  globalvoicesonline.org

After California voters passed the proposition to ban gay marriage in the state, gay and transgender rights is back on the headlines in America. While the debate rages on there, Nepal - a faraway country, much smaller and often ignored on the world stage is now being looked upon as an example on how to handle the gay and transgender rights issue.

On November 17th Nepal’s Supreme Court issued a historic rulingwhich grants protection to gays, lesbians and transgender community in the country. It also open doors for gay marriage rights and end all discriminatory laws.

At Towleroad commentators expressed their support for Nepal’s decision. John in California notes the country’s Supreme Court ruling and also changes happening in Asia regarding sexual minorities and transgender rights.

“I don’t think we’ll see much momentum on gay issues in the Middle East and Africa beyond what has already happened in Israel and South Africa…… I think the gay rights movement of the 21st century will be fought in these two areas of the world. Aside from this great ruling in Nepal, we’ve seen some encouraging signs Asians are finally willing to talk about sexuality.”

Efforts of a Nepali gay rights group is also being discussed by bloggers, especially the fact that the group-Blue Diamond Society’s founder Sunil Pant is the only openly gay member of Nepal’s Constitutional Assembly. PinkNews UK quotes Mr. Pant’s reaction to the ruling

“Reading this decision my eyes were filled with tears and I felt we are the most proud LGBTI citizens of Nepal in the world.”

Nepal’s efforts are having effects in neighboring countries too, especially India. Transgender rights activists in city of Bangalore (now called Bengaluru) are looking at changes in Nepal and hope that the city police’s campaign against sexual minorities would end soon.

“Police from Banashakari Police Station (Bengaluru City) verbally abused and assaulted (physically and sexually) 40 plus human rights defenders and sexual minorities when they questioned the illegal detention of 5 hijras (transgenders) by Girinagar Police station on 20th October, 2008.”

Interestingly, the question about religion has not affected gay rights debate in Nepal. The country is majority Hindu, with Muslims, Buddhists, Christians and indigenous population making up about 10% of the population. Some attribute this to the lack of rigid hierarchy or leadership structure in Hinduism.

“In 2004, Hinduism Today reporter Rajiv Malik asked several Hindu swamis (teachers) their opinion of same-sex marriage. The swamis expressed a range of opinions, positive and negative. They felt free to differ with each other…..made possible by the fact that Hinduism has no one hierarchy or leader. As Mahant Ram Puri remarked, “We do not have a rule book in Hinduism. We have a hundred million authorities.”

Ancient Hindu texts like the Mahabharta have transgender characters that did not face discrimination from the society and even Lord Krishna was fond of cross dressing to please his beloved.