WorldIndia's Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a colonial-era ban on gay sex at the centre of years of legal battles. "The law had become a weapon for harassment for the LGBT community," Chief Justice Dipak Misra said as he announced the landmark verdict. Members of the LGBT community hugged each other and cried as news of the verdict spread. Gay sex has long been taboo in conservative India -- particularly in rural areas where homophobia is widespread. The Delhi High Court decriminalised gay sex in 2009, but the Supreme Court reinstated legal sanctions in 2014 after a successful appeal by religious groups.

Source: Sunday Times September 06, 2018 06:56 UTC