Bangalore: Relentless about their fight for identity despite repeated roadblocks, the sexual minority community in the city, along with members of the community across India, is hopeful that a curative petition in the Supreme Court will get them justice.
The apex court on Tuesday rejected to review its December 2013 order on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises unnatural sex. Last month the Supreme Court division bench had set aside the 2009 Delhi High Court judgement and upheld the Constitutional validity of Section 377 IPC. “We will file a curative petition before five judges in the Supreme Court to remedy errors, which may manifest in injustice,” said lawyer and gay activist Arvind Narrain.
The nearly 60-lakh strong community in Karnataka will rally for justice with the rest of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) members in the country, said Elavarthi Manohar — a political activist and founder of ‘Sangma’ — one of the first sexual minority rights groups in the city.
“We are looking at legal options but we will hit the roads to protest against discrimination and injustice soon. I also want them to be politically assertive,” he added.
“We are asking the LGBT members to stand up and be counted because unless they do that their voices will not be heard. People don’t know that there could be a family member with an alternate sexuality,” said Vinay Chandran, executive director, ‘Swabhava’ – a LGBT rights group in the city.
