Being gay in India has been legalized. History has been made! The Supreme Court passed the judgment on 6th September this year, decriminalizing a 157-year-old colonial rule. Four days of hearings on the matter were held from 10-17 July 2018. The Constitution Bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, as well as Justices Rohinton Nariman, DY Chandrachud, AM Khanwilkar, and Indu Malhotra delivered a unanimous judgment. While Section 377, which has existed in its current form ever since the IPC came into force in 1860, also covers oral and anal sex among heterosexual couples; it has mostly come to be used against homosexuals and transsexuals, often as a targeted method of harassment. Section 377 for non-consensual sexual acts is much essential to criminalize sexual assault of men, and crucially, members of the transgender and intersex communities.
