In a major turn around Supreme Court of India has agreed to review the decision where it has criminalized gay sexual relations under section 377. The SC today also issued a notice to the Central government of India seeking its response to the petion filed by LGBT community.
A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said the SC' s December 2013 judgment upholding the validity of Section 377 - which says sexual intercourse between consenting adults of the same gender is a crime - appears to hurt the sexual preferences of individuals.
The Judges took into account views expressed in another judgment in August 2017, which gave the right to privacy the status of a fundamental right. That judgment was also in favor of respecting the freedom of individuals to their sexual orientation.
After the SC's privacy judgment in August, activists and lawyers working for LGBTQ community made a strong case for the rights of sexual minorities.