'Tiny minority's too need protection'

MUMBAI: The apex court verdict which recriminalized consensual same-sex relationships was panned all round, but the part that caused the most shock was its pronouncement that the "minuscule minority population of LGBTs" does not form a sound basis to consider IPC Section 377 unconstitutional.

The Centre had informed the Supreme Court that the population of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community was estimated at 25 lakh in 2006. It also reported that, according to official figures, only about 200 people have been prosecuted under Section 377 in more than 150 years.

On Thursday, legal experts and sociologists countered the data. They said the figures were under-representation of reality since a majority in the community prefer not to be identified, often out of fear of the very law that the apex court refused to hold unconstitutional.

"The SC spoke disapprovingly of the Delhi high court for 'having overlooked' that the community comprised such a tiny fraction of the nation's billion-plus population. But the same SC has in the past held that human rights and dignity of even one individual have to be respected and given paramount importance," said civil rights activist and advocate Mihir Desai.

Lawyers asserted that the "rights of a minority have to be protected whether minuscule or not, as is done across other segments."

"The SC had an exceptional opportunity to interpret Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and exclude from the law's purview homosexual adult relationships. The world has recognised in the last many decades that these relationships spring from human emotion; the world no longer sees it as against the 'order of nature,'" said senior advocate Amit Desai in Mumbai. "There is a crying need to decriminalize such a relationship even if practised by a minority."

Sociologist Nandini Sardesai added: "This is not a violation of gay rights issue, it is a violation of human rights and privacy." Lawyer Swapnil Kothari echoed Sardesai.

Civil rights activists and the legal community were particularly disappointed at the judgment since the top court has encouraged judicial activism in the context of corruption. They said it is after all corruption in police forces that leads to harassment and extortion of homosexuals.

The SC said the 200 cases recorded under Section 377 in the "last 153 years" were "wholly insufficient for recording a finding that homosexuals, gays, etc., are being subjected to discriminatory treatment either by State or its agencies or society".

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

'Tiny minority's too need protection'

Dengan url

http://cegahkeropostulang.blogspot.com/2013/12/tiny-minoritys-too-need-protection.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

'Tiny minority's too need protection'

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

'Tiny minority's too need protection'

sebagai sumbernya