10 years under Section 377 (unnatural offences) and seven years under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the IPC.

In a new twist to the sensational case of rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl at Jaihindpuram here in 2006, the death convict V. Selvam on Wednesday claimed that he was a minor at the time of the alleged occurrence of the crime.

Disposing of a criminal appeal filed by him in the Madras High Court Bench here against the conviction and death sentence, Justices P. Murgesen and C.S. Karnan remitted the matter back to the trial court for considering it afresh.

According to the prosecution, Selvam, joined as a casual worker with a flower vendor who had his shop-cum-residence at Jaihindpuram. He was accommodated in the same house since he claimed to be hailing from Tiruchi.

On October 22, 2006, he raped his employer’s daughter, then studying in fourth standard. The girl sustained head injuries when she resisted. She was also strangulated. A few days later, her dead body was found in a carton in the second floor of the house.

The Mahila Court here on August 1, 2008 convicted Selvam under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and imposed capital punishment. The court found it to be a rarest of rare case warranting death sentence.

He was also sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 450 (house trespass), life sentence under Section 376 (rape), another 10 years under Section 377 (unnatural offences) and seven years under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the IPC.

The trial court judgement was immediately referred to the High Court for confirmation in accordance with procedures prescribed under the Code of Criminal Procedure for dealing with cases relating to imposition of death sentence.

Simultaneously, the convict also filed an appeal assailing the trial court judgement as well as the prosecution case on various grounds. He had mentioned his age as 22 in an affidavit filed in support of his criminal appeal filed last year.

However, now the convict filed a fresh petition raising an additional ground that he was only 17 years old at the time of the alleged occurrence of crime. “Unfortunately I had not raised the above ground at the time of trial,” he said.

Claiming that he was born on June 1, 1989 as per a certificate issued by a Panchayat Union middle school at Tirupparankundram, he contended that he ought to have been tried by a Juvenile Justice Board and not the Mahila Court.

Keywords: rape, murder, Juvenile Justice Board, Indian Penal Code, Mahila Court

If you are a homosexual you may be in for a shock ????

Instead of directing homosexuals to seek help from gay support groups they prefer to pursue conversion therapy ??????? Each time a gay sees a picture of a naked man and is about to get an arousal, he is given an electric shock. Doctors from renowned institutions across the country are practising aversion therapy in the belief that homosexuality is a disease. Aman Khanna reports anand naorem Instead of directing homosexuals to seek help from gay support groups they prefer to pursue conversion therapy Eighteen is no age to be in the grip of neurosis. That’s not the time when you are drowned in the waves of depression. But when boys of his age were chasing girls with a spring in their walk, reading romantic poetry and sweating it out on cricket fields, Mahesh would sit in a dark corner at home and let an anxiety engulf him. He would think about the hostel mate he was deeply attracted to. Mahesh knew he was unlike the other boys. But he could not put his finger on the difference. When the depression became intense and Mahesh felt he was losing it, he decided to “address the issue”. He approached his family doctor. The physician said he didn’t know what was causing the depression and referred Mahesh to a sexologist. A famous practitioner in Mumbai, the sexologist told Mahesh he was suffering from a “disease” called homosexuality, but there was no cause to worry — the “disease” could be cured. He added he had cured many lesbians of the same disorder. The bottom line was clear: Mahesh was sick and he needed immediate treatment. The much-promised treatment began, with the sexologist asking Mahesh to come back to him with at least 10 nude pictures of men in different poses he found attractive. “He said he would flash those pictures and at the time of arousal, he would administer shocks or impulses on my body,” Mahesh recounts, “As that was happening, he would flash pictures of naked women. And then, no impulses.” Over a period of time, the doctor said, Mahesh’s mind would get averse to homosexual thoughts. The doctor said the treatment would take a long time. At the very least, four to five visits. The sexologist didn’t give a name to the treatment, but he promised complete cure. In clinical jargon it is called aversion therapy. Or as laymen refer to it — shock therapy. Mahesh came out of the clinic certain he did not want to take any treatment for his problem. He called up his family physician and said, “I think I will be able to handle it on my own.” He never went back to the sexologist. Mahesh managed to escape without any shock, but there are hundreds, maybe thousands, who do go ahead with the therapy prescribed to Mahesh. Till this day, a primitive and obsolete treatment like shock therapy is being used on homosexuals across the country “to turn them into normal heterosexuals”. Instead of directing homosexuals to seek help from gay support groups, sensitive to the feelings of homosexuals many doctors prefer to pursue a line of conversion therapy. That is, to convert them into heterosexuals. Most often, the doctors’ argument is — “What can I do if some people approach me for treatment? Do I turn them away?” But you scratch the surface a bit and the real reason for continuance of such therapy emerges — it is the bias, prejudice and ignorance that still grips the majority of the medical fraternity in this country. Many psychiatrists and psychologists approached by this reporter perceived homosexuality as a “deviation”, a “variation”, a “disorder”. They see it as a deep psychological problem that can be cured by some old-fashioned techniques and methods. And aversion therapy, or shock therapy, just happens to be one of the magus’ tricks. Damned Right: a recreated session of aversion therapy using models photo s. radhakrishna Electrodes looking like “a headphone” were put on his head, and then he was senseless. Almost paralysed by the 110 volts The electrical current passes through the bodies like hundreds of ants biting together, but it is the anxiety of anticipating a shock that is a thousand times more painful. They are made to feel guilty for the way they are Arvind Narrain and Vinay Chandran have been fighting for gay rights in Bangalore. Last year, they interviewed numerous counsellors, psychiatrists and psychologists in India’s Silicon Valley to find out why they are still using aversion therapy to change people’s sexuality. In one of the interviews, a behavioural therapist reasoned: “Shock therapy causes as much tissue damage as anal sex. So, why fuss?” Lata Hemchand, a clinical psychologist based in Bangalore, was practising aversion therapy till four years ago, but now advises homosexuals to approach support groups which can really help them in overcoming the problems. She admits most medical practitioners still see homosexuality as a deviation that “has to be set right”. Hemchand might have turned over a new leaf, but most doctors still see aversion therapy as a normal treatment — even in the best of neurological and psychological centres like National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (nimhans) in Bangalore. A clinical psychologist at nimhans confessed, on the condition of anonymity, that aversion therapy was used extensively in the hospital till four years ago. But, even today, it is administered sometimes as a part of the larger treatment of “orgasmic reconditioning” — a therapy which requires the homosexual to think of the opposite sex just at the time of ejaculation. There is more on offer at nimhans. MP Sharma, another clinical psychologist at the famous institute, told Narrain and Chandran that treatments include “psycho-education, cognitive restructuring, orgasmic reconditioning” and, of course, “aversion relief wherein we give them a mild electrical shock when they are watching homosexual imagery”. The line of treatment is based on Pavlov’s work on conditioning. Russian experimental psychologist Ivan Pavlov rang a bell every time to tell his dog its mealtime. After some time, the dog began salivating just at the sound of the bell. The theory concluded that certain associations produce positive or negative reactions in one’s body. The same theory was first used for alcoholics and then extended to homosexuals. The intention is to relate homosexuality with guilt and punishment. Two electrodes on Velcro patches are attached to the upper arm or the wrist of a homosexual. Sometimes it is attached on the thigh, too. On the other end is a small vanity box-sized transformer, which clearly spells out in large font size ‘Aversion Therapy Equipment’. RAKESH kumar, 27 Travel agent, Mumbai   I was in school then, probably in Class XII. I was confused about myself; I liked both men and women, but mainly men. And it used to haunt me. There were times I used to get terribly depressed. I had no option but to meet a psychiatrist. He is a famous practitioner in a reputed hospital in Navi Mumbai. He said, “You are going through a phase. It is an addiction, an abnormal behaviour.” The first day, he asked me to get a hiv test done. Then, he gave me injections. I don’t know what it was, but it would take care of my depression, it would cheer me for a while. Wherever he was, I would call and go over for an injection. He also put me on Prozac. Once, he called an older woman to his clinic in the night. She must have been 25 or 30, probably a sex-worker. The doctor asked me to caress her and imagine that I was attracted to her. He wanted to prove to me that I will get a hard on. After a while, I told him it’s just not possible. But I was naïve; I carried on the therapy. I was using my parents’ money to buy the medicines. Obviously, over time, they found the bills and approached the doctor. When he called me up, I told him not to disclose anything of my sexuality. He still did. I never went back to him after that. In the first session the doctor measures the homosexual’s threshold of pain. The clinical psychologist jacks up the voltage step by step to find out how the homosexual feels. Does it hurt at all, or is the pain “mildly unpleasant” or painful? Once the individual says it is painful, the voltage is lowered by a few degrees. The pain threshold has been calculated. All shocks would be of this voltage. Just before leaving the homosexual is asked to bring nude pictures of men he finds attractive. From the next session on, those nude photos are projected on a wall. Pictures of naked men interspersed with naked women. Every time a gay sees a picture of a naked man, and is just about to get an arousal, he is given a shock. And as pictures of naked women come on, the electrical wires are switched dead. The course is reversed for a lesbian. The treatment usually continues for two to three months. About 15 shocks of 30 volts a session, one hour a day, two sessions a week. The ‘patient’ needs at least 20 sessions, each costing between Rs 200 and 500. The electrical current passes through the bodies like hundreds of ants biting together, but it is the anxiety of anticipating a shock that is a thousand times more painful. “The harm is in the innocuousness of the whole thing,” says Narrain. Men and women are being made to feel guilty for the way they are. Till a few years ago, the archaic therapy was being tried on cross-dressers too. They were made to wear “their sex’s clothes” and then given a shock. It was given up when success was found scarce. Aversion therapy, though, is not the only trick up doctors’ sleeves; there are other therapies to do exactly the same. Male hormones are being injected into so-called effete men. In rural areas, health workers have come across quacks prescribing bizarre concoctions in green bottles and colourful pills to those not in touch with their masculine side. Talking to Narrain and Chandran for their study, a famous sexologist in Bangalore, Vinod Chebbi, criticised aversion therapy because “it took pleasure away” from sex. But, in the same breath, boasted of his cure to homosexuality — replacement therapy. “I show a series of pictures of heterosexual activity. I teach them how to enhance pleasure by the use of lubricant,” he explained, “I give him an idea of what is the vagina and how one can masturbate with lubricant so that the organ slides into the vagina.” Shockingly, at times, doctors even see electro-convulsive therapy (ect) — the shock therapy one usually sees in films — as an option. Aniruddha Bose was one of those who received ect. Twice. Back in 1995, Bose was pursuing chemical engineering from Jadavpur University in Kolkata. He had always been good at studies in school and college, scoring high marks. But even as a young man, he never understood all the jabber about girls. With time, he became aggressive, even violent. His parents consulted a doctor and he, in turn, sent Bose to a private nursing home. They told him “homosexuality was not a good thing”, that “it caused aids”. On one of the visits to the hospital, he was told he would be given shock treatment. Even then he didn’t resist, thinking the doctors were there to help him out. His parents were not present there. The male nurses held him down on a bed while the doctor placed a wooden block in his mouth. “I think it was to prevent me from biting my own tongue,” Bose says. Electrodes looking like “a headphone” were put on his head, and then he was senseless. Almost paralysed by the 110 volts. The shocks continued for three weeks. Twice a week. Every time, four or five people would come to his house and drag him away. He was put on a medication that still continues. Sanjay Kumar, 32 Tailor, New Delhi I was deeply troubled by my sexuality. I didn’t know what homosexuality meant. All I knew was that I was different. I had regular bouts of epression, but I couldn’t share it with my parents. Someone told me I could get treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. I went there with my friend. The psychiatrist told me, “It is unnatural. You aren’t supposed to be this way. Some day, you will have to get married. You can’t have children if you stay like this. You have to understand, the society doesn’t accept this.” He first recommended shock therapy to me. He said I would be fine after just five or six shocks. But I said ‘no’. I was scared; I had seen people given shocks in films. So he put me on non-prescription drugs. He would pull them out of his drawer. I was supposed to take three doses every day. Each dose had four tablets – two white, one yellow and one brown tablet. He said it would continue for six months. But, even after two months I didn’t feel any change. One day, travelling in a bus, I saw a sticker of the Naz Foundation India. I met a counsellor in their office, heard people discussing homosexuality. I owe a lot to them. I still feel angry at times. That doctor must have treated so many who were confused like me. There must have been so many who didn’t find any help. And then it happened again in 1997. The same shocks. The doctor told him the therapy was because of his “orientation”. He said, “If you don’t give it up, you will have to be admitted again.” His sister-in-law said the same. Bose was admitted again in the same clinic in 1999 and then in 2002, but he pleaded not to be given shock therapy. His parents are old now, and Bose says he has forgiven them. There appears no clear way to find the number of homosexuals undergoing aversion therapy each month, each year. Those who have experienced the trauma of receiving shocks are hesitant even to share it with gay and lesbian support groups. In any case, given the figures of gays and lesbians who approach mental health specialists for counselling, it must be large. All of it could stop only if doctors stop seeing homosexuality as a mental disorder. But doctors argue they cannot be singled out for their prejudices because it is the society that sees homosexuality as an aberration. In fact, it is usually the parents who push their children to get such ‘cure’ of homosexuality. “If only my parents had listened, I wouldn’t have gone through all of this,” says Kiran David in a mellow voice. David was 17 when he suffered a nervous breakdown on realising the man he loved was seeing someone else. His parents admitted him to St John’s Medical College & Hospital in Bangalore. By the age of 18, David became a schizophrenic. He felt people were following him; his phones were being tapped. Today, David is 21 and still has to take anti-depressants four times a day. He can still have an erection, but because of the medicines can never ejaculate. Till today, his parents have not mentioned the word ‘gay’ in front of him. Ironically, David’s father is a social activist who fights for labour and women’s rights, and his mother is a consultant in St John’s Hospital, the institute where he was admitted. There are many like David. But the legal system, too, finds itself tied up when faced with an issue of treatment of homosexuality. In 2003, the Naz Foundation, a Delhi-based group working to prevent the spread of hiv/aids, came across a case of a homosexual who was being given non-prescription drugs for months at no end by a psychiatrist in aiims. A petition with the National Human Rights Commission (nhrc) was rejected without delay. The unofficial reason given was — “Homosexuality is an offence under ipc. Do you want us to take cognisance of something that is an offence?” Most doctors generally hedge the question — why treat someone when they don’t have a ‘disease’. They quote clinical jargon to defend their actions. Homosexuality is generally broken into two conditions. If a person is comfortable with his or her sexuality, it is called ego-syntonic homosexuality. And if they are ill at ease, it is called ego-dystonic homosexuality. Doctors claim they have to treat those who are unhappy with their sexuality, even though the American Psychiatrists’ Association had declassified ego-dystonic homosexuality as a disorder in 1988. None of the psychologists and psychiatrists approached by this reporter was even sure if aversion therapy works. There are no recent studies to support a change in sexuality by shock or any other kind of therapy. Even the anecdotal evidence given in the therapy’s defence is suspect. A few years ago, Hemchand, the Bangalore-based clinical psychologist, used aversion therapy on a middle-aged man who was under family pressure to tie the knot. He returned with his wife a few months later, claiming riddance of the disorder. “But I knew,” Hemchand says, “He was probably deceiving himself.” Everybody this reporter spoke to recollected their experiences not with sorrow. Everybody, instead, spoke of it questioningly, wondering what wrong did they do. As a counsellor who realises the futility of such treatment puts it, why should they be punished for living naturally?

April 09, 200 Moily defends move to let off Quattrocchi Favours opening up legal sector to foreign firms R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, October 8 Exuding confidence that the proposal to open up the legal sector to foreign law firms will benefit young lawyers, Law Minister M Veerappa Moily today defended the CBI’s decision to withdraw the case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the alleged Bofors payoff. Covering a wide-range of issues in an inter-action with the media, Moily refused to specify whether Karnataka High Court Chief Justice PD Dinakaran would be elevated to the Supreme Court despite allegations of amassing huge wealth. Constitutional authorities responsible for the appointment of judges would not go by “perceptions, impressions and controversies” but by “hard facts and evidences.” Queried further, he said none of the constitutional authorities was “bankrupt of ideas” on how to deal with such situations and that nobody could “hinder or obstruct” the process. Asked about throwing open the legal sector, he said he had discussed the issue with several delegations of young lawyers who were enthusiastic over the move as they felt that they stood to benefit the same way the country’s IT professionals did. Why anyone should doubt the competence of the country’s lawyers and deny them the opportunity to go global, he wondered. However, the final decision on the issue would be arrived at in consultation with the Bar Council of India and other stakeholders. There was a move to set up four law colleges of excellence, one each in every region, on the lines of National Law School, Bangalore, whose students were the most sought after by leading law firms, national and international. The government decided to withdraw the case against Quattrocchi in a Delhi trial court as it could not succeed in the courts of Malaysia and Argentina to get him extradited. Asked why the move had come 20 years after the registration of the case, the minister counter-questioned the reporter: “Do you want to have silver and golden jubilees” of the case? He refused to comment on the apex court’s appeal in the Delhi High Court on the issue whether the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) fell within the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, stating that the matter was sub judice. On Section 377 relating to sex among consenting same-sex adults, he said the Cabinet had taken a decision to assist the apex court in deciding the case. Asked about UPA ministers travelling by business class on flights despite booking tickets in economy class, he said he travelled economy class and had not engaged CIDs to spy on his Cabinet colleagues. A new, comprehensive Judges’ Inquiry Bill was almost ready and would be put up for Cabinet approval shortly, Moily said. To a question on the absence of reservation in the higher judiciary, he said the SC collegium was making all efforts to provide for adequate representation to all sections of society and to all regions. Top UN AIDS official urges India not to waver in fight against epidemic UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe with Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Mr Dinesh Trivedi. 8 October 2009 – The role of India’s political leadership is vital to ensure that the country with the highest number of HIV-infected people in Asia achieves its goals of universal access to prevention, care and treatment by 2010, according to a top United Nations AIDS official. Making his first visit to the world’s second most populous country in his official capacity, Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Executive Director Michel Sidibé met with Indians ministers and other officials, congratulating the Government for the progress made in its response to HIV. He praised the results achieved by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry and National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in expanding access to treatment beyond targets and implementing programmes which are having a positive impact on HIV transmission rates in the a country where an estimated 2.4 million people are living with HIV. Mr. Sidibé urged Dinesh Trivedi, India’s Minister of State for Health, to guard against complacency towards HIV in the face of other emerging challenges such as H1N1 flu and climate change-related health issues. He appealed for India to strengthen its role in the UNAIDS programmes and become a donor to UNAIDS in view of the country’s increased political and economic status in the world community. For every 100 people living with HIV in India, 61 are men and 39 women and prevalence is high in the 15-49 age group. As in most of Asia, the epidemic is concentrated among key populations at higher risk of HIV, such as sex workers, drug injectors and homosexuals. Mr. Sidibé expressed his support for the recent decision of a Delhi court to annul Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalized homosexuality, a breakthrough for rights groups that strengthens the NACO’s efforts to reach out to people at higher risk of HIV, such as men who have sex with men and trans-gendered people. The Commission on AIDS in Asia, an independent body, has noted that India has significantly increased domestic spending on HIV in recent years, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the country’s total AIDS budget. News Tracker: past stories on this issue At least 4 million receiving AIDS drugs, but millions more lack access, UN reports

Legalising Gay Sex or 377 will destroy social fabric in INDIA

 

377 Ka Ganda me danda 

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Centre declines to take stand on gay sex

New Delhi, Sep 17, DH News Service:

Refraining from taking any stand on the politically sensitive issue of gay sex, the government on Thursday left it to the Supreme Court to decide on the correctness of the Delhi High Court’s verdict that legalised homosexuality.

The Union Cabinet decided to ask the Attorney General G E Vahanavati to assist the Supreme Court on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code relating to gay sex. The Government said that it was up to the apex court to decide on the law. “The Cabinet considered the report of the Group of Ministers and decided to ask the attorney general to assist the Supreme Court in every way desired in arriving at an opinion on the (Delhi) High Court judgment,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said. She was addressing a news-conference after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, which was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Supreme Court had sought the government’s opinion after a Christian organisation and a disciple of Yoga Guru Ramdev approached the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court’s July 2 order that legitimized homosexuality between consenting adults. The Government had constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to shape its opinion on the sensitive issue. The GoM comprised Home Minister P Chidambaram, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Law Minister M Veerappa Moily. GoM suggestion The GoM is believed to have suggested that the Government should not oppose the Delhi High Court’s order, but should also refrain from taking a stand, but leave it to the Supreme Court itself to decide. Sources said that the Government had refrained from taking a stand on gay sex considering the political sensitivity of the issue. The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) too has of late moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s order. The statutory body for protection of child rights has petitioned that the dilution of Section 377 of IPC has legalised one more way of sexual exploitation of children. The Section 377 of the IPC defines homosexuality as unnatural sex, which is punishable with imprisonment up to life. But the Delhi High Court on July 2 struck it down stating that it violates Article 21 (Right to Protection of Life and Personal Liberty), 14 (Right to Equality before Law) and 15 (Prohibition of Discrimination on Grounds of Religion, Race, Caste, Sex or Place of Birth) of the Constitution.

World premier > 377 ka gaand me Danda <

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http://www.wix.com/shemalejasmin/Section-377

judgment of the high court is legally correct or not

The government will not oppose the Delhi High Court judgment which legalised homosexual acts between consenting adults, official documents show.

The three ministries had been directed by the Prime Minister to firm up the government stand, following the opposing stands taken by the Home and Health ministries before the high court last year.The note, likely to be put up before the Union Cabinet on Thursday, was prepared after meetings between the Home, Health and law Ministries. It states there appeared to be no “legal error in the judgment, which has not struck down the entire Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)”, given by the high court on July 2.

The three ministries had been directed by the Prime Minister to firm up the government stand, following the opposing stands taken by the Home and Health ministries before the high court last year.

The fresh government note is learnt to have been prepared on the basis of the opinion given by union Law Secretary TK Vishwanathan.

“Since the court has not struck down the entire section, and has confined itself to consensual acts in private, it will be difficult for the government to question the HC judgment,” the Law Secretary stated.

The three ministries decided to place it for the union cabinet’s approval, and let the Supreme Court “take a final view whether the judgment of the high court is legally correct or not”.

Nagendar Sharma / Saroj Nagi, Hindustan Times
Email Author
New Delhi, September 02, 2009

it ruled that a ban on gay sex between adults violates India's constitution

Indian cabinet could report next week on legalisation of gay sex

The Indian government could give its official response to a court ruling that decriminalised homosexual acts as early as next week.

Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters yesterday that a decision will be announced soon.

"The Cabinet has been requested to formulate its views," he said.

"When the Cabinet takes a decision, it will be announced."

Three Cabinet ministers were asked to consider the ruling by Delhi High Court.

In July it ruled that a ban on gay sex between adults violates India's constitution.

Section 377 was enacted in 1860 under the British Raj, in line with the anti-sodomy laws in England at the time.

It punishes anyone who "voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" by imprisonment and criminalises a whole range of sexual acts from mutual masturbation, to fellatio and anal sex.

Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidahr said the ban violated fundamental human rights.

The ruling said: "In the Indian Constitution, the right to live with dignity and the right of privacy both are recognised as dimensions of Article 21.

"Section 377 IPC denies a person's dignity and criminalises his or her core identity solely on account of his or her sexuality and thus violates Article 21 of the Constitution.

"As it stands, Section 377 IPC denies a gay person a right to full personhood which is implicit in notion of life under Article 21 of the Constitution."

The decision was made in response to a case filed by Naz Foundation India. The ruling can still be opposed by the government.

The health ministry has called for the ban to be scrapped, saying it hampered efforts to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.

However, the home ministry opposed the move, saying that gay sex is the product of "a perverse mind."

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

Indian court decriminalizes gay sex

Indian court decriminalizes gay sex

Activists herald new wave of HIV prevention
Toronto HIV/AIDS outreach workers say India's Jul 2 ruling to decriminalize gay sex will have positive effects on HIV/AIDS prevention work in a country ravaged by high HIV infection rates.

Devan Nambiar, a Toronto-based educator and consultant who does regular HIV prevention work in India, says the ruling will allow outreach workers there to promote safer-sex more publicly without facing criminal prosecution. He says that, prior the ruling, prevention workers risked jail time for distributing condoms and prevention literature to men who have sex with men.

"HIV/AIDS prevention is hidden," he says. "You have to negotiate with local communities about distributing protection. You have to let police know that you're an [outreach] worker, not selling sex. Otherwise you could be arrested. It wasn't used a lot, but it was always hanging over your head."

The court ruling, the first of its kind in India, states that treating consensual gay sex as a crime is a violation of fundamental human rights protected under Indian constitution.

The move comes nearly eight years after the Naz Foundation (India) Trust, a New Delhi-based HIV/AIDS organization, filed a petition to amend India's sex laws. Prior to the amendment, gay sex was punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

"I'm so excited, I haven't been able to process the news yet," Anjali Gopalan, executive director of the Naz Foundation (India) Trust, told the Associated Press. "We've finally entered the 21st century."

Gay activists in Toronto view India's decision as a major step forward for queer people in developing countries.

"India is a democracy. To have them do something of this caliber is a big thing for a lot of South Asian communities," says Rahim Thawer, men's outreach coordinator for the Toronto-based Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention.

Thawer says it will take a long time to change the social stigma around homosexuality in India but that the ruling "sets up a framework" that will "make it easier for safe-sex discussion to take place."

El-Farouk Khaki, a Toronto immigration lawyer, politician and human rights activist, says the ruling gives gay men a new sense of legal protection. Khaki says the law was commonly used as an intimidation tool, either to blackmail or sexually abuse potential offenders. Prior to the ruling, if a person was gay bashed they could be afraid to report the incident to police for fear that they would "be arrested and charged" under the anti-sodomy law, says Khaki.

Khaki says he remains skeptical about how decriminalization will fit into the context of Indian culture.

"Often anti-sodomy laws are removed from the books but that does not mean the everyday human rights situation for the average person has changed," he explains. "The cops that used the law to abuse people are still the same cops."

Being openly gay in India is still largely taboo. In a culture heavily influenced by religion and family honour, gay people often repress their sexualities or live double lives.

"There's a public face and a private face," says Khaki. "People will come out to their families, and families will tolerate it, but they won't tell anyone else.... Sometimes same-sex marriage is tolerated and accepted as long as people are also in heterosexual marriages."

Nambiar says the choice to come out in India sometimes depends on socio-economic status.

"Middle and upper class gays are much more comfortable coming out," he says. "If you're below it's more challenging due to the lack of education."

And "coming out" as "gay," as we in the West would say, isn't always the goal. In India, many men who have sex with men don't bother with identity labels, says Nambiar.

"In Western culture gay men are piped into being a top, a bottom, a butch, a femme," says Nambiar. "In India it's more like, 'I'm a man, I like you, end of story'.... I find it liberating to be gay in India."

Many religious groups are expected to pressure India's ministries and courts to reverse its decision to decriminalize gay sex.

The ruling "is dangerous and harmful for Indian society," Uzma Nahid, member of an Islamic law board, told the LA Times.

Nahid promised to join Christian and Hindu groups in fighting the ruling, the newspaper reported. Such an appeal would be made to India's supreme court.

The ruling was celebrated in cities across the India but Thawer says there is a small chance, if the religious right pushes hard enough, that the anti-sodomy laws could be reinstated.

"The lawmakers and a lot of academics would counter the argument," says Thawer. "The state would have to recognize that while some find homosexuality immoral, people would have to look at the true spirit of equality. Not to ask what makes everyone happy, but to do what is right."

India becomes the 127th country to decriminalize gay sex. Anti-sodomy laws remain on the books in 18 Asian and Pacific, 17 African, and 13 Caribbean countries and colonies, reports Human Rights Watch, a New York based human rights organization.

‘Dealing with’ the Hijra Problem >Pakistan’s Undesirables:

Pakistan’s supreme court recently ruled that all hijras, the Urdu catch-all term for its transvestite, transgender and eunuch community, will be registered by the government as part of a survey that aims to integrate them further into society. The ruling followed a petition by Islamic jurist Dr Mohammad Aslam Khaki, who said the purpose was to “save them from a life of shame”.

Khaki’s petition was prompted by a police raid on a hijra colony in Taxila, an ancient city filled with some of the oldest Buddhist ruins in Pakistan. Two of the three judges on the bench that ruled in favour if the hijra petition, chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, were under house arrest for the better part of the past three years. This, coupled with the clobbering the police gave the lawyers during their demonstrations against the suspension of the judiciary in 2007, makes it easy to regard the hijra ruling as being directed against the police.

Outside the affluent areas of Lahore, police are known to arrest and shake down members of the urban working and begging classes; and many police working at busy intersections have bad relations with the “genderqueer“.

But that doesn’t mean the current judiciary stands for greater gender equity either. Last May, one of the judges that also sat on the bench for the hijra ruling, Ijaz Chaudhry, banned the popular songstress Naseebo Lal from being played on the radio for singing vulgar songs.

Still, the ruling has brought hijras further into the public eye. They held their first protest outside the Lahore Press Club a week after the ruling. On 26 June, hundreds from around Pakistan gathered outside the club holding up placards with the verse “Who am I?” by Punjab’s most beloved poet, Bulleh Shah. The gathering was to laud the colossal effort it must have taken for the supreme court to acknowledge their existence, and to hopefully inform the public about the impoverished, and desperate conditions that they live in.

Boys who grow up genderqueer in Pakistan are often abandoned by families and left to fend for themselves during early adolescence. Most hijra colonies could be described as matriarchies, with a clear leader, referred to as the guru. Some hijras remain on the colonies, others go out to dance, collect alms or entertain city dwellers for money, which is given to the guru who ensures their food and lodging. There are other boys, referred to as pakhi was (gypsies), who live on the banks of the Ravi river in tent colonies and also dress up as women to earn money singing and dancing in public. But pakhi was dress like this to earn more money and attention, not because of their sexuality.

In a culture with strict gender codes, those who bend the rules choose to dress as hijras for many reasons. The government survey will have to decided whether or not to recognise the distinctions between hijras, street performers and even prostitutes.

This survey is also likely to be lacklustre in its execution. Previous government attempts to survey or register the working and begging classes have been ineffectual, at best. After securing a 150 rupee daily wage for labourers, the labour secretary in Lahore admitted that only a fraction of the labourers working in the city were registered. Despite a so-called guarantee by the government to keep the poor from starving to death, people are still starving to death. Without a real follow-through on the part of local districts of major cities and towns, any government surveys will remain unhelpful.

The move to recognise hijras has perhaps been part of a spillover from India’s efforts to recognise its own hijras following a stunt last April when three hijras applied to run for office to raise awareness about the “third sex issue”. As a result, hijras can now give their gender as “E” for eunuch on their passports and government forms.

One thing is for sure, though. To change the attitude towards sexuality and gender in the country, it will take much more than rulings by the courts, or surveys by the government. (Source)

1. i met a hijra a few days back while i was waiting for my mom outside a shopping center. i had no money hand in and he started talking to me. he told me that he had been looking for a job for so long but no one was willing to have him as an employee cuz everyone thought that having him as an employee would bring shame to them and would damage their business. it was quite saddening.

   Comment by Leena S. — July 19, 2009 #

   Reply
2. 

   No mercy for these jali hijras.

   Comment by Alam — July 19, 2009 #

   Reply
3. 

   Thank God! Poor people.

   Comment by Achelois — July 20, 2009 #

   Reply
4. 

   It’s true that many,including me,don’t feel comfortable being around hijras but that doesn’t mean they should be shamed and starved.Hoepfully life will improve for them.

   Comment by Lat — July 20, 2009 #

   Reply
5. 

   How do they do it in other countries?

   Comment by Tauqeer — July 22, 2009 #

   Reply
6. 

   Just noticed the hand of the guy in black. There are definitely some malformations in these poor people

   Comment by Achelois — July 24, 2009 #

   Reply
7. 

   at least something good can come out of this.

   Comment by Haleem — August 8, 2009 #

   Reply

Dead Sea - A Living Lesson for Homosexuals > GAY EXECUTIONS <

Married in Public GAY in Private ?

Married Gay Men and their social implications

Ashok Row Kavi ,Thursday, August 13, 2009, (New Delhi)

One of the most common problems I've faced as a community counselor is of married gay men and their issues. I still remember a young married man who wished to know how to "balance" his life with a wife at home and a male lover in the army, of all things. The issues got sticky as the army lover wanted to come and meet him at home now knowing that along with the parents he would end up meeting his "stepwife" (suatan in Hindi).

In a very forgettable instance, I remember a young man planning to marry a woman knowing full well that he would not meet his conjugal obligations. The idea behind the marriage was to grab an apartment offered by his employer at a throwaway prize for only their married employees. The plan was to divorce the hapless woman after a year and get in his gay lover to live-in an ever-so-happy pink future. When I pointed out that a divorce might mean the wife getting the apartment besodes alimony payments, he asked me about pre-nuptial contracts. When I said they were illegal everywhere in the Union of India except in Goa, he huffed out of the office and never returned, till eight years after he walked in a bitter man very sick with AIDS related complications.

The sad stories are still continuing and seem to provide an endless drama of sorrow and tragedy. My community based group, the Humsafar Trust, does what are called "tracking interventions" every 18 months. These are structured questionnaires which are answered by random men in sex sites through what are called "time-location- clustering", a social marketing techniques to get some credible information about any population.

What came about was startling. Around 50 to 55 per cent of men-who-had-sex-with-men (MSM) were mostly also having sex with women, Of these around 25 to 30 per cent were heterosexually married to women. Besides, all these bisexual men were having two female partners on an average every month and on an average these men were also having sex with between 5 and 7 male partners a month. In other words, there was a huge bridge MSM population that was having sex with both men and women.

Now just suppose that the HIV or STI prevalence among exclusive gay men was a high 20 per cent. This "high pressure zone" was the tank from which HIV and STIs "flowed across the bridge of bisexual men into the female population. That being the case, the government's HIV prevention programs had to be made more integrated by asking MSM to use condoms with both men and women. Besides, the female partners, the wives of MSM also had to be treated for STIs to prevent what was called "the ping pong effect".

In this, if the man alone went for treatment without getting his wife also treated, she might re-infect him even if he did not have sex outside marriage with men or women. The NACO's programs in Phase III of the National AIDS Control Program (NACP III) finally got on board the wives and female partners of MSM. However, it is the social implications of gay men married to women that will become more obvious as the days go by.

Men get married not only to reproduce and have stable social relationships but also for inheritance and familial stability. I many joint and extended families, young men do not get powers of attorneys in family business' till they are married and become "responsible house-holders". The imperative to marry is sometimes greater on men than women despite the fact that a single woman is more stigmatized than a bachelor.

However, as Section 377 is read down and society "unravels" into liberal globalised economies, things will rapidly change. It is not un-common to see parents now groping with young men who bring him their foreign male spouses to introduce them to parents. Also men living as "single" gay men in other cities cities also feel they have more space to have relations with both sexes without being hauled over to be forced into "arranged marriages".

Whatever it may be, the future will be fraught with a lot more social heartbreak, need or counseling and "upstream marriage services" before the dust settles after the re-interpretation of Section 377. The main goal though should be a mentally and physically healthier society, never mind the ranting and raving of the loony Right wing forces..

Section 377: Cabinet to take final call on govt stand

Section 377: Cabinet to take final call on govt stand
NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet will take a final call on decriminalising homosexuality as a ministerial panel set up to formulate the government’s response to Delhi high court legalising gay sex decided to put the matter before it as early as possible.

Sources said the law ministry would prepare a detailed note — explaining the HC ruling — for the Cabinet which will decide the government stand when the matter comes up before the Supreme Court on September 14. The three-member panel of law minister Veerappa Moily, home minister P Chidambaram and health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad met on Tuesday and “critically analysed” the pros and cons of the HC judgment.

“We have analysed the judgment with full objectivity — what the judgment had said and what it had not said. Section 377 was not sought to be abrogated. Section 377 remains. The only question is decriminalisation of private consensual sex between two adults,” Moily told reporters after the meeting.

He said the ministers were of the opinion that the matter would have to be presented before the Union Cabinet.

The SC, while hearing a PIL on the matter, had asked the government to present its stand on the issue and posted the matter for September 14. “So, having analysed the judgment, we are placing it before the Cabinet and will ask the Cabinet to take a decision,” Chidambaram said.

He said the HC had read down Section 377 in a manner that it was consistent with Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. Chidambaram said there was a lot of misinformation about what the HC judgment had held. “One example is that the judgment has struck down Section 377, that is not correct,” he said. This was the second meeting of the three ministers, Moily said, adding, “We have not given any value judgment on the ruling.”

Law secretary T K Vishwanath briefed the ministers on the issue in the meeting.

The SC had on July 20 declined to pass an interim order to stay the HC verdict. The apex court said it would wait for the government to come out with a definite stand on the issue.

Section 377. Un-natural Offences

Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with ¹[imprisonment for life], or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation. -Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.

1. Subs. by Act 26 of 1955, sec.117. and sch., for "transportation for life" (w.e.f. 1-1-1956).

Gay law: Govt can't take decision in a hurry, says Moily

Hyderabad, India: June 29, 2009 - Government will not take a decision in a hurry to repeal the controversial Section 377 of IPC which criminalises homosexuality, Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily said on Monday following concerns voiced by some Christian and Muslim religious groups against the step.

The Government cannot take a decision in a hurry. We need to apply our mind," he told reporters here adding "we are examining it."

The Minister had stated in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday that a decision on the issue would be taken only after considering concerns of all sections of society, including religious groups.

A meeting of the Union Home, Health and Law Ministers is expected be held to have a re-look at Section 377 of IPC that prohibits sex between people of the same gender.

Asked whether Government was backtracking after favouring repeal of the law, Moily said his earlier remarks had been "misinterpreted".
The minister said he had stated that re-think is needed on many sections of the IPC. Specifically asked about Sec.377 of the IPC, the Minister said his response had been "we are examining".

Some Christian and Muslim leaders have opposed scrapping of the law.

Islam’s stand on gay sex conveyed to Centre: AIMPLB chief Maulana Rabe

Bhopal: The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, (AIMPLB), is in touch with the Union Government over the issue of legalizing gay sex after the Delhi High Court's verdict decriminalising homosexual acts among consenting adults.

AIMPLB president Syed Mohammad Rabe Hasani Nadvi, who was here to condole the death of Bhopal-based eminent Islamic scholar Maulana Habib Rehan Nadvi Azhari, talking to this correspondent said the Board has conveyed to the Centre the Islamic point of view about gay sex and damaging consequences it will have on Indian society. The innocent Indian society should not be allowed to ape the western culture blindly, he opined.

Indians are God fearing people and the "homosexual acts are irreligious and unnatural. Decriminalising these would be a slap on the face of Indian society", he remarked.

Dead Sea can help Govt. take a wise decision on Gay Sex: 82 kilometers in length and 18 kilometers wide Dead Sea is thousands of foot deep and exists 1300 foot below the sea level in between Palestine and Jordan. Due to the salt ratio which is 8 times more than the other oceans in the world, the density of water in Dead Sea is enormously.....Read Full

Gay Sex: SC refuses to stay HC Verdict, issues notice to Centre

Gay rights activism and health care issues

Supreme Court asks Centre to file its opinion on homosexual offence, in eight weeks

Gay ruling unites diverse religious leaders

Armed forces say no to homosexuality

SC notice to Centre on Delhi HC verdict on gay sex

Religious leaders criticise ruling on gay sex

Delhi High Court legalises gay sex

When asked if AIMPLB would intervene in the case which is with the Supreme Court and become party to it, he said "No", but added, "We have explained to the Union Government the ill effects on society which would follow after the homosexual behaviour of consensual adults is decriminalised, which is a crime under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, (IPC).

Maulana Rabe hoped that good counsel would prevail and the UPA Government would not waver over the issue. It should stand firm and oppose tooth and nail the move of decriminalising the homosexual acts under 377 IPC, he said.

"Homosexuality was never accepted in the human history as it was "thought of as an extremely evil and criminal act", he asserted.

Maulana Rabe said the Government should take into account of the historical facts as stated in the Holy Quran about the Dead Sea that exists in Jordan since last thousands of years as a lesson for those who indulge in gay sex.

Meanwhile, he termed the proposed "Bhojan Mantra" to be recited by children before mid-day meals in schools as proposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled Madhya Pradesh Government as against secular values. The Indian Constitution does not approve such gimmicks as practiced by the state governments, he added.

Pervez Bari is a Bhopal based journalist. He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net

Dead Sea: A Living Lesson for Homosexuals

82 kilometers in length and 18 kilometers wide Dead Sea is thousands of foot deep and exists 1300 foot below the sea level in between Palestine and Jordan. Due to the salt ratio which is 8 times more than the other oceans in the world, the density of water in Dead Sea is enormously high. So much so that a person floats on the surface and is not drowned in it.

Around four thousand years from now Prophet Looth - nephew of the Biblical Prophet Abraham was sent by the Almighty Allah as His Messenger to Sodom, a town 55 kilometers to Amman, the capital of Jordan in the Middle East. Quran has described the historical accounts of Prophet Looth and his folks in Surah Al-Ankaboot and Surah Hud with much details. People of Sodom indulged in homosexuality, a habit unheard of till then. Quran describes their unnatural act in these words:

“And recall Looth who said to his folks, you commit the lewdness such as no creature did before you.”

(Surah Al-Ankaboot, Ayah 28)

Prophet Looth tried hard so as to refrain them from indulging in homosexuality. However they declined to fall in line. Their insistence on lewdness invited the wrath of the Almighty Allah. Quran says:

“We are about to bring down upon folks of this township a fury from the sky because they are evil-livers.”

(Surah Al-Ankaboot, Ayah 34)

Before finally destroying the people of Sodom, Allah sent three Angels in the town, who were in juvenile human form. They knocked at Prophet Looth as guests. Prophet Looth, aware of the habit his folks were involved in, was distressed and helplessly tried to find ways to protect them. Quran describes the incidence as this:

“And his people came unto him, running towards him – and before then they used to commit abominations. He said: O my people! Here are my (native) daughters! They are purer for you. Beware of Allah and degrade me not in (the presence of) my guests. Is there not among you any upright man?”

(Surah Hud, Ayah 78)

At this point the Angels disclosed to Prophet Looth that they were actually Angels of Allah and had been descended to destroy the town. They advised Prophet Looth to leave the town with his companions. Once the believers abandoned the town, the Angels destroyed the whole town. Describing the incident Quran says:

“So when Our commandment came to pass, We overthrew (that township) and rained upon it stones of clay, one after another.”

(Surah Hud, Ayah 82)

The idea that homosexual intercourse was involved as at least a part of the evil of Sodom arises from the story in Genesis 19. It notes:

Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom - both young and old - surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

Moreover, under Hebrew references Wikipedia notes, many times in the Pentateuch and Prophets, writers use God's destruction of Sodom to demonstrate His awesome power.

Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me.

(Ezekiel 16.49-50)

The New Testament like the Old Testament also references Sodom as a place of God's anger against sin.

And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He [God] has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.

(Jude 1:7, New American Standard Version)

Interestingly English word 'Sodomy', commonly used for homosexuality is derived from Sodom, the name of the town where Prophet Looth was sent as the Messenger. Describing Sodomy, Wikipedia notes, it is a term used today predominantly in law (derived from traditional Christian usage) to describe the act of anal intercourse, oral intercourse, or bestiality.

Majority of narrators believe that Dead Sea is exactly the place and the town that was earlier known as Sodom where Prophet Looth had been sent as the Messenger thousands of years before. After describing the accounts of Prophet Looth and his unfortunate folks, Allah concludes the whole incidence terming it a lesson for the mankind.

“And verily of that We have left a clear sign for people who have sense.”

(Surah Al-Ankaboot, Ayah 35)

We believe the Indian Government is neither senseless nor would be willing to invite the wrath of The Almighty and The All Powerful.