20 IITians approach Supreme Court against Section 377
May 15, 2018A batch of 20 present and former students of Indian Institutes of Technology have submitted a petition before the Supreme Court for decriminalising same gender sex. They claimed that criminalisation of sexual orientation leads to loss of self-respect and sense of shame. This petition is filed after the famous hotelier Keshav Suri, executive director at the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group filed a petition before the top court for the same reason.
These IIT students are professionals belonging to different walks of life, like scientists, researchers, teachers and entrepreneurs. These petitioners are from different age groups starting from a 19 year old and the oldest graduated from IIT in 1982. This petition represents the interest of the LGBT alumni association of IITs which has around 350 members.
Their contention is that any discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is “deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of an individual”. Earlier, the top court had agreed to determine the constitutional validity of Section 377 of CrPC which criminalises gay sex. The petitioners submitted that despite being a graduate from the best institution of the country they are subjected to an archaic law which prohibits gay sex.
Such a law curtails their right to freedom as enshrined under the Constitution of India. Owning to Section 377 petitioners had to face depression, self-harm, and other mental health issues. Through their petition they are pleading before the court to settle this issue.
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