History owes apology to LGBTs: Justice Indu Malhotra
New Delhi, Sep 6 : Asserting that criminalising consensual sexual acts between persons of same gender was violative of their fundamental rights, Supreme Court Justice Indu Malhotra on Thursday said that history owed an apology to the Indian LGBTs for "delay in providing redressal" for their sufferings over the centuries.
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code - which criminalised consensual sexual acts of same-gender adults in private -- is violative of Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution, the Judge ruled.
"History owes an apology... for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they suffered through the centuries", Justice Indu Malhotra said in a separate judgment while concurring with the one pronounced by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.
The community was "compelled to live a life full of fear of reprisals and persecution, on account of ignorance of the majority to recognise that homosexuality is a completely natural condition, part of a range of human sexuality."
Pointing out that the LGBTs deserve to live a life unshackled from the shadow of being 'unapprehended felons', Justice Malhotra said: "The mis-application of this provision (Section 377) denied them the fundamental right to equality guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution."
She said that it (discrimination) infringed the right to non-discrimination under Article 15, and the right to live a life of dignity and privacy guaranteed by Article 21.
Justice Malhotra said that sexual orientation is innate to a human being and is an important attribute of one's personality and identity. "... LGBT persons have little or no choice over their sexual orientation."
She said LGBT persons, like heterosexual persons, are entitled to "privacy", and the right to lead a "dignified existence, without fear of persecution."
"The right to life and liberty would encompass the right to sexual autonomy, and freedom of expression," she said in her judgment.
In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults by declaring as "manifestly arbitrary" Section 377 of the IPC, which was welcomed by the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community and others.
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Gangolli Police arrest couple in house robbery case within seven hours
Gangolli: In an operation, the Gangolli police arrested a couple accused of a house robbery within seven hours of the incident.
The accused, identified as Vinayak (41) and his wife Pramila (30) from Gujjadi, were taken into custody following a coordinated investigation by the police team.
The robbery took place on the morning of January 21 when a bag containing jewelry was stolen from a house near Trasi Beach. Among the stolen items were a 16-gram gold necklace, a 16-gram bangle, and three gold rings weighing 3 grams, with the total value of the jewelry estimated at Rs 2 lakh. The culprits fled the scene on a scooty.
Following the registration of the case at the Gangolli police station, SSI Harish R. and a team comprising officers Shantaram, Raju, Nagaraj, Raghavendra, Sandeep Kurani, Maruti Nayak, and Dinesh swiftly gathered intelligence and tracked down the suspects by 8 p.m. on the same day. The stolen gold ornaments and the vehicle used in the crime have been recovered.
The accused were presented before the court, and further legal proceedings are underway.
