Everything you need to know about Section 377 of Indian Constitution and Verdict by Supreme Court. Short but Very Helpful.

1. The Read Down Of Section 377 of Indian Penal Code !
• Section 377 ?
• What has Happened so far ?
• Overturning decision by SC ?
• Legislative Action and Right to Privacy !
• The Supreme Court Verdict.

2. What is Section 377 of Indian Penal Code ?
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalises consensual
private sexual acts between adults. It came into force in 1862
during the British rule of India.
The penal provision says “whoever voluntarily has carnal
intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or
animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend
to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
It actually violates the article 14, 15 and 21 of Indian Constitution.

3. What had happened so far ?
Naz Foundation (India) Trust, an activist group, filed a public interest litigation in the
Delhi High Court in 2001, seeking legalisation of homosexual intercourse between
consenting adults.
However in 2003, the Delhi High Court refused to consider a petition regarding the
legality of the law, saying that the petitioners, had no locus standi (ability of a party to
demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law) in the matter.
Subsequently, there was a significant intervention in the case by a Delhi-based coalition
of LGBT, women's and human rights activists called 'Voices Against 377', which
supported the demand to 'read down' section 377.
On 12 June 2009, India's new law minister Veerappa Moily agreed that Section 377
might be outdated.
Eventually, in a historic judgement delivered on 2 July 2009, Delhi High Court
overturned the 150-year-old section, legalising consensual homosexual activities
between adults. In a 105-page judgement, a bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah
and Justice S Muralidhar said that if not amended, section 377 of the IPC would violate
Article 14 of the Indian constitution, which states that every citizen has equal
opportunity of life and is equal before law.

4. The overturning Decision By SC in 2013 !!
On 11 December 2013, the Supreme Court of India set aside the 2009 judgement
given by the Delhi High Court stating that judicial intervention was not required in
this issue. This in effect recriminalized sexual intercourse "against the order of
nature“.
Supreme court bench of justices G. S. Singhvi and S. J. Mukhopadhaya stated —
"In view of the above discussion, we hold that Section 377 IPC does not suffer
from the vice of unconstitutionality and the declaration made by the Division Bench
of the High court is legally unsustainable."

5. Legislative Action and Right To Privacy !!
On 18 December 2015, Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor of the Indian National
Congress, introduced a private member's bill to replace Section 377 in the Indian Penal
Code and decriminalise consensual same-sex relations. The bill was defeated in first
reading
In March 2016, Tharoor tried to reintroduce the private member's bill to decriminalise
homosexuality, but was voted down for the second time.
On 24 August 2017, the Supreme Court of India held that the Right to Privacy is a
fundamental right protected under Article 21 and Part III of the Indian Constitution.
The judgement mentioned Section 377 as a "discordant note which directly bears upon
the evolution of the constitutional jurisprudence on the right to privacy.“
“Sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy. Discrimination against an
individual on the basis of sexual orientation is deeply offensive to the dignity and self-
worth of the individual. Equality demands that the sexual orientation of each individual
in society must be protected on an even platform.”
The right to privacy and the protection of sexual orientation lie at the core of the
fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution.

6. The Supreme Court Verdict 2018 !!
In 2018, the five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court
started hearing the challenge to constitutionality of Section 377.
The bench pronounced its verdict on 6 September 2018.Announcing the
verdict, the court reversed its own 2013 judgement of restoring Section
377 by stating that using the section of the IPC to victimize homosexuals
was unconstitutional, and henceforth, a criminal act. In its ruling, the
Supreme Court stated that consensual sexual acts between adults cannot
be a crime, deeming the prior law "irrational, arbitrary and
incomprehensible.“
Supreme Court on its 2018 verdict says that :
“Consensual adult gay sex is not a crime and article 14 and 21 of
Indian Constitution contradict the present view of Section 377.”