IPC's Section 377: Supreme Court to hear plea for relook on verdict on gay sex today

February 2, 2016

New Delhi, Feb 2: The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hold an open court hearing of the curative petition by NGO Naz Foundation seeking relook at its verdict upholding the validity of Indian Penal Code's section 377 criminalising gay sex.

gaysex

A bench of three seniormost judges - Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar - would hold the open court of the issue that caused flutters both in legal circles and amongst gay rights activitsts after top court by its December 12, 2013 upheld the validity of section 377.

The apex court by its order of December 12, 2013 and subsequently in the review petition on January 28, 2014, upheld the validity of section 377, finding no constitutional infirmity in the penal provision that criminalises homosexuality.

Upholding the validity of section 377, the court had set aside the Delhi High Court verdict of July 2, 2009 by which it had read down section 377 and decriminalising consensual sex between the adults of same gender.

The then bench of Chief Justice P.Sathasivam, Justice R.M.Lodha, Justice H.L.Dattu and Justice S.J.Mukhopadhaya (all retired since then) had on April 3, 2014, directed the hearing of the curative petition in open court after they considered the plea by Naz Foundation in their chambers.

The NGO had moved the Supreme Court seeking to cure "gross miscarriage of justice" in its judgment upholding the validity of section 377. It had contended that 2013 amendment to section 375, which deals with rape, had held consensual sex between an adult male and woman was not an offence.

The curative petition had said that by implication, such sexual acts between man and woman, which are consensual, are no longer prohibited.

Consequently, these consensual acts between man and woman have been taken out of the ambit of section 377, otherwise the amended Section 375 would be rendered redundant, it contended, adding that section 377 now effectively only criminalises all forms of penetrative sex, including, penile-anal sex and penile oral sex, which makes it ex facie discriminatory against homosexual men and transgender persons and thus violative of article 14 of the constitution.

It had said that the amendments to section 375 were carried out after the judgment in the gay sex case was reserved and the parties did not have a chance to address the court on the issue, and the court ought to have heard the parties on the effect of the amendments to section 375 on Section 377.

The curative petition said that court had erred in upholding the classification between carnal intercourse in the ordinary course of nature and carnal intercourse against the order of nature under section 377, without recording a finding on the carnal intercourse against the order of nature. And whether there is a rational nexus with the object of legislation on this count.

The impugned judgment, it said, "reflects an issue bias against the LGBT persons, as evident from such observations like "the so-called rights of LGBT persons" and "miniscule fraction of the country's population" which vitiates the judgment and renders it a nullity.

Comments

TR
 - 
Tuesday, 2 Feb 2016

This is the period nearing end of the world, where BAD will over take up on GOOD. LIES and DECEPTION will over take TRUTH.

MAY ALLAH SUBHANAHU save us from the company of such People.

PONDER
 - 
Tuesday, 2 Feb 2016

Prophet Lut lived at the same time as Prophet Ibrahim. The old testament says that LUT (AS) was Prophet Ibrahim's nephew and that they traveled some distance together in Ibrahim's long journeys. Lut was sent as a messenger to one of the Ibrahim's neighboring communities. These people as QURAN tells us, practiced a perversion unknown to the world up to then Namely SODOMY. When LUT told them to give up this Perversion and brought them ALLAH's warning THEY DENIED HIM. refused his prophethood and carried on with their DESIRE. In the END people were destroyed by a DREADFUL DISASTER.
The QURAN: (26 :161 - 174)
When their brother LUT said to them \Will YOU not fear ALLAH\"?
Indeed, Im to YOU a trustworthy Messenger.
So fear ALLAH and obey me
And I do not ask for it any PAYMENT. My payment is only from the lord of the worlds.
DO YOU approach MALES among the worlds
And leave what YOUR LORD has created for YOU as MATES? But YOU (GaY) are a people TRANSGRESSING.\"
They said \"If you do not desist, O LUT, YOu wil surely be of those evicted.\"
He Said \"Indeed I'm toward your deed, of those who detest (it)
My Lord, save me and my family from (the consequence of) WHAT THEY DO\"
So We (ALLAH) saved him and his family, all,
Except an old women those who remained behind.
Then We destroyed the others.
And we rained upon them a rain (of stones) and evil was the rain of those who were WARNED.
Indeed in that is a SIGN, but MOST of them were not to be BELIEVERS>"

AK
 - 
Tuesday, 2 Feb 2016

I hope india will not fall for such dirty acts & follow the evils agenda which is injected from america.
Ya ALLAH save us from this evil act becoming legal.

AK
 - 
Tuesday, 2 Feb 2016

I hope india will not fall for such dirty acts & follow the evils agenda which is injected from america.
Ya ALLAH save us from this evil act becoming legal.

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Agencies
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: Votes between Hindus and Muslims were ''completely polarised'', said Congress party's Alka Lamba, as she trailed at Chandni Chowk assembly seat on Tuesday.

"I accept the result, but don't give up. Hindu-Muslim votes were completely polarised. The #Congress Party will now have to prepare for a new fight with new faces and a long struggle for the people of #Delhi. If you fight today, you will also win tomorrow," Ms. Lamba tweeted in Hindi.

As per the Election Commission (EC) website, Ms. Lamba is in third position with just 1,229 votes so far. AAP's Parlad Singh Sawhney is ahead with 23,281 votes followed by Suman Kumar Gupta of BJP.

Ms. Lamba, who had won from Chandni Chowk on an AAP ticket in the 2015 polls, was expelled from AAP last year after she joined Congress, citing differences with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

As per the EC official trends, AAP is maintaining a strong lead on 58 seats, while the BJP is far behind at 12. Congress has failed to open its account so far.

The counting of votes for 70 seats of the Delhi Assembly began at 8 am today amid tight security.

Delhi went to polls in a single-phase on February 8. AAP, BJP, Congress are the main political parties in the fray.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Dubai, Jan 9: A roadshow promoting Gujarat as an education hub of India will be held here from January 17, officials said.

Representatives of 22 universities and four colleges from Gujarat will be part of the two-day event organised by the Indian Consulate in Dubai.

"The roadshow will provide a glimpse of the thriving education sector in Gujarat and enable the interested candidates to get a first-hand understanding of the rich resources of the state in order to pursue higher education," according to a statement released by the Indian Consulate here on Wednesday.

A delegation led by Gujarat's Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama will take part in the event under the 'Study in Gujarat' campaign, the statement said.

The Principal Secretary of the state's Higher and Technical Education, Anju Sharma, will participate in the roadshow, which will conclude on January 18.

The participating educational institutions include Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gujarat Forensic Science University, Nirma University, LD College of Engineering, Gujarat Arts and Science College, Vishwakarma Government College and SAL College.

"In the last decade and a half, Gujarat has been successful in establishing its identity as the leading educational hub of India. State of the art infrastructure, safe environment, curriculum at par with international standards and industry exposure gives students an edge during the course of their study," the statement said.

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Agencies
January 20,2020

New Delhi, Jan 20: The BJP has got a brand new President in the form of JP Nadda. At around 2.30 pm, the announcement was made, bringing an end to the Amit Shah era in BJP. The party's Working President Jagat Prakash Nadda won unopposed, sparking celebrations outside the BJP headquarters here on Monday. 

Amit Shah himself was among the people who proposed Nadda's name along with Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh. Soon after his annointment, BJP election returning officer Radha Mohan Singh told the media, "I announce JP Nadda as the new BJP President." Shah was also seen hugging Nadda.

The nomination process for the post of the BJP President began at 10 am and went on till 12.30 pm. For the next hour, the filed nomination paper, which was just one, was examined. Party members waitied till 2.30 pm for the candidate to withdraw if he wished to. It was after this that Nadda was declared as the man who would step into the shoes of Amit Shah.

Many in the BJP believe that although Nadda is the BJP chief now, Shah would still make all macro-level decisions like pre poll alliances or top organisational appointments. Nadda would be in charge of monitoring the day-to-day needs of the organisation. BJP sources say that Amit Shah himself wanted an arrangement like this one and personally wanted Nadda to take over. as he helped Shah formulate legislations like Triple Talaq and Citizenship Amendment Act.

The party constitution mandates completion of election of at least 50 per cent of state Presidents for the election of national President to happen. In the last few days, the BJP has completed the election of a slew of state Presidents like in West Bengal, Nagaland among others.

The process of election of the national BJP President is quite elaborate and has been described in detail in the party constitution, which says that the national president shall be elected by an electoral college, comprising members of the national council and the state councils.

"Any 20 members of the electoral college of a state can jointly propose the name of a person, who has been an active member for four terms and has 15 years of membership, for the post of national president. Such joint proposal should come from not less than five states where elections have been completed for the national council. The consent of the candidate is necessary," it says.

Who is JP Nadda?

Jagat Prakash Nadda, 59, who has his roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates, was appointed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national President on Monday, replacing his 'mentor' and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Former environment, health and law minister from Himachal Pradesh, which has just four of the Lok Sabha's 543 seats, Nadda has tried to carve out his own space in national politics with his low profile and astute organisational skills, believe his party leaders.

He rose through the ranks from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, from where he has managed to build inroads from university to the state politics.

Nadda has been active on the national political scene since 2010 when he was picked by then BJP chief Nitin Gadkari to join his new team. He was made the party's national general secretary.

Born on December 2, 1960, Nadda did his graduation from Patna and holds a post-graduate degree in political science and Bachelor of Legislative Law (LL.B) from Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla.

Starting his political career as a student leader of the ABVP in 1978, Nadda had also worked both with Gadkari and Shah even in the party's youth wing -- the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha -- from 1991 to 1994.

His wife Mallika Nadda, who teaches history at the Himachal Pradesh University and is currently posted in university's campus in Delhi, was an ABVP activist too, and its national general secretary from 1988 to 1999.

In the previous BJP government (2007-12) in the state, Nadda was forced to resign as Forest Minister in 2010 owing to differences between him and then chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012.

Nadda won his first Assembly election from Bilaspur (Sadar) in Himachal in 1993. In 1998, he again won from that seat and became the state Health Minister.

He lost the Assembly elections in 2003, but again won in 2007 and was appointed the Forest Minister in the Himachal Pradesh.

Nadda, as a forest minister, was the brain behind opening forest police stations to check forest crimes, launching community-driven plantation, setting up forest ponds and the massive plantation of deodars to boost the depleting green cover of the 'Queen of Hills', as Shimla was fondly called by the British.

A close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nadda was among those who were mentioned as likely aspirants to the BJP top post after Rajnath Singh was inducted into the Central government as the Home Minister in 2014.

Later, Nadda was inducted into the union cabinet in its first expansion in 2014 as the Health Minister.

Hailing Nadda's appointment, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told IANS it is a proud moment that a leader belonging to a small state in the national politics is today the leader of the country's biggest national party.

His father N.L. Nadda, who was a Vice-Chancellor of the Ranchi University, resides in Bilaspur town.

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