India decriminalises same sex relationships!

(July 02, 2009) Equal Grounds, a non-profit organization of Sri Lanka that seeks equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-sexual communities of the island, congratulates the Indian court ruling that decriminalises sames sex relationships. Today, 2nd July 2009, the High Court in Delhi struck down a 148-year-old colonial law which describes a same-sex relationship as an “unnatural offence”.

Delhi’s High Court ruled that the law outlawing homosexual acts was discriminatory and a “violation of fundamental rights”. The court said that a statute in Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which defines homosexual acts as “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and made them illegal, was an “antithesis of the right to equality”.

"We congratulate a decade long struggle by Indian LGBT activists to repeal this insidious law," says Equal Grounds adding "India’s bold and forward thinking decision gives hope to the millions of LGBTIQ persons in the entire region. We hope that Sri Lanka will seriously think of doing the same and welcoming all people regardless of caste, creed, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity as EQUAL citizens of this country."