Gay sex: Foreign laws cannot be applied blindfolded, says SC

New Delhi, Dec 11: Foreign laws cannot be applied "blindfolded" to decide the constitutionality of law enacted by legislature in India, the Supreme Court today said while setting aside the judgement of the Delhi High Court decriminalising sexual intercourse between same sex people.

The court said that the judgements of other jurisdictions (foreign countries) can shed light on various aspects of the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans genders (LGBT) and are also informative but they cannot be applied here.

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya made the observation while rejecting the high court's 2009 verdict in which it had extensively relied upon the judgements of foreign countries.

"In its anxiety to protect the so-called rights of LGBT persons and to declare that Section 377 (unnatural offences) IPC violates the right to privacy, autonomy and dignity, the High Court has extensively relied upon the judgements of other jurisdictions. Though these judgements shed considerable light on various aspects of this right and are informative in relation to the plight of sexual minorities, we feel that they cannot be applied blindfolded for deciding the constitutionality of the law enacted by the Indian legislature," the bench said.

PTI