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print versionLGBT community enraged after arrests
Maitreyee Boruah, TNN | Nov 8, 2013, 12.58 PM IST
It’s been four years since the Delhi High Court made the historic ruling decriminalizing homosexuality, by which Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was found to violate the fundamental right to life and liberty and the right to equality as guaranteed by the Constitution of India (Articles 14, 15 and 21).
But it appears that the law is still being used against members of the community, as 14 people (suspected of being homosexuals) were arrested by the Hassan police under Section 377 on November 4. The incident has sparked outrage in the community and raises questions as to how arrests could be made under a Section of the IPC that the court has struck down, and why the arrests were allegedly made in the dead of night.
Anjali Gopalan, the founder and executive director of a Delhi-based NGO, says it’s ridiculous to arrest anyone under Section 377. "Our foundation was the petitioner in the Delhi High Court case that found Section 377 of the IPC unconstitutional. How can someone be arrested under Section 377? The Delhi High Court judgement clearly states that Section 377 of the IPC violates the fundamental right to life and liberty and the right to equality as guaranteed by the Constitution of India," she says.
Shocked members of the community in the state are planning massive protests against the arrests and aim to provide legal assistance to the 14 who are in police custody. "It appears that the police continue to misuse the law to harass members of the LGBT community members," says Arvind Narrain, an advocate working for the rights of the community.
According to reports, six of the alleged accused were arrested based on a First Information Report (FIR) filed by an engineering student in 2011, who claimed to have been sexually abused by the accused. The rest were allegedly arrested based on two FIRs filed by the police itself, under claims that they performed sexual acts in a public space.
Calling it state terrorism, Arvind asks why the police waited for two years after the first complaint to arrest these six people. "Even if the arrests had been made in 2011, it would have been unconstitutional to book them under Section 377. The police continue to use the rule and that is not right," says Arvind.
The incident has pushed members of the community to fight towards repealing the Karnataka Police Act 36 (A), which criminalizes homosexuality, as well as for laws to prevent hate crimes against sexual minorities. Says Akkai Padmashali, an LGBT activist, "We need an act that provides stringent punishment to people or institutions that indulge in hate crime against sexual minorities. We need proper legal response to violence against members of the community from their families, the police and the state," she says.
What the law says...
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which was drafted in 1860, states that whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished. However, in 2009, the Delhi High Court had held this law unconstitutional.
