Gay sex verdict: SC dismisses review petition filed by Centre NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the petitions filed by Centre and rights activists seeking review of its verdict declaring gay sex an offence punishable up to life imprisonment. A bench of justices H L Dattu and S J Mukhopadhaya dismissed the review petitions on re-looking the earlier verdict. Seeking stay on the operation of the judgment, gay rights activists, including NGO Naz Foundation, said thousands from the LGBT community became open about their sexual identity during the past four years after the high court decriminalised gay sex and they are now facing the threat of being prosecuted. They submitted that criminalizing gay sex amounts to violation of fundamental rights of the LGBT community. The NGO submitted there are a number of "grave errors of law" and "wrong application of law" in the judgment which needs to be corrected. "This court has failed to consider the submission that Section 377 violates the right to health of men who have sex with men, since criminalization of same sex activity impedes access to health services, including HIV prevention efforts. This contention was supported by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in this court," the petition said. Amid huge outrage against the judgment, the Centre also filed a review petition in the apex court. The Centre sought review to "avoid grave miscarriage of justice to thousands of LGBT" persons who have been aggrieved by the apex court judgement contending it is "unsustainable" as it "suffers from errors". While setting aside the July 2, 2009 judgment of the Delhi high court, the apex court had held that Section 377 (unnatural sexual offences) of the IPC does not suffer from the vice of unconstitutionality and that the declaration made by the high court is legally unsustainable.
