In a landmark decision for LGBTQ rights and the community in India, the country's highest court has decriminalised gay sex.
Five Supreme Court judges struck down the colonial-era Section 377 on Thursday, a ban on gay sex that was rarely applied to consenting adults, but used to stigmatise the LGBTQ community.
SEE ALSO:Same-sex couple paints their house rainbow to troll their homophobic neighbors"We have to bid adieu to prejudices and to empower all citizens," Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said while reading the judgment, according to NDTV.
The decision ends a long battle to decriminalise gay sex in India, which began when the British enacted the law in 1861.
Indian members of the LGBTQ community celebrate outside the Supreme Court.Credit: SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty ImagesUnder Section 377, the penalty was a 10-year jail term, although it has "hardly ever been used in cases of consenting adults." Opponents said the law "served as a weapon for police abuse," and called for it to be scrapped.
In 2009, the Delhi High Court ruled the law should be removed, but this was overturned four years later when the Supreme Court deemed the matter was up for parliament to decide.
Since then, the law faced numerous challenges, but gathered speed when five high-profile petitioners put their names against the law, saying Section 377 left them victims of jail, abuse, extortion and torture.
Across Indian cities there was an outpouring of joy when the Supreme Court finally made its decision.
Tweet may have been deleted
The United Nations in India said in a statement online that it hopes the ruling "will be the first step towards guaranteeing the full range of fundamental rights to LGBTI persons."
"We also hope that the judgment will boost efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination against LGBTI persons in all areas of social, economic, cultural and political activity, thereby ensuring a truly inclusive society," the statement reads.
"The focus must now be on ensuring access to justice, including remedy; effective investigations of acts of violence and discrimination; and effective access to economic, social and cultural rights."
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
TopicsActivismLGBTQ
(责任编辑：百科)
You will love/hate Cards Against Humanity's new fortune cookies
There's a chocolate manhole cover in Japan and we don't know whyThis blimp that looks like a butt is the largest aircraft in the worldYoung snake catcher dies while attempting to kiss a cobraDog elected for third term as mayor of Minnesota townMom discovers security cameras hacked, kids' bedroom livestreamed
A mother in Houston, Texas woke up one morning to pretty much every parent's worst-case scenario. 。 "
...[详细]The Chelsea Clinton guide to taking down Trump on Twitter
While Hillary Clinton lays relatively low and Michelle Obama kicks back in an island paradise, Chels
...[详细]Amazon's Echo Tap gets the one feature it should have had all along
Amazon just gave its portable speaker a much needed update.。The company is adding hands-free functio
...[详细]This photo series proves trans people are more than their gender identity
Sharing your story of struggle and resilience can be revolutionary — especially when lives lik
...[详细]Snapchat is about to explode in popularity, report says
Snapchat is about to have a couple of really good years. 。The company will see huge gains in the numb
...[详细]This photo series proves trans people are more than their gender identity
Sharing your story of struggle and resilience can be revolutionary — especially when lives lik
...[详细]'Arrow' tackles the gun debate to 'start a conversation'
In the '80s, you could barely go a week without encountering a "Very Special Episode" of your favori
...[详细]Lady Gaga prepared for her Super Bowl halftime in a pink football uniform... and no pants
Lady Gaga got ready for her Super Bowl 2017 halftime show the only way she knows how —with som
...[详细]Hiddleswift finally followed each other on Instagram after 3 excruciating days
On Aug. 13, 1961, Germany began construction of the Berlin Wall, perhaps the greatest symbol of the
...[详细]Apple's UAC port will help wired headphones work without a dongle
Relax, Apple's not dumping the Lightning plug for its iOS devices (yet). 。A report from 。 9to5Mac 。stok
...[详细]This 'sh*tpost' bot makes terrible memes so you don't have to
Wikipedia banned this media outlet as an 'unreliable' source