NEW DELHI, Sept 8:
The Supreme Court, which unanimously struck down part of the British-era law that criminalised gay sex, has traced the history of the 158-year-old provision in its judgement back to the reign of King Henry VIII in 1533.
A five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malohtra said that the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) violated the constitutional right to equality and dignity.
Justices Nariman and Chandrachud, in their separate concurring judgements, dealt in detail about the evolution of the section as it exists in the present form. Justice Nariman said section 377 was modelled on the Britain’s Buggery Act of 1533 which was brought in by the then king Henry VIII which prohibited “the detestable and abominable offence” of buggery (anal intercourse) committed with mankind or beast.
The word “buggery” is derived from the old French word “bougre” and was taken to mean anal intercourse, Justice Chandrachud said in his judgement. “The Buggery Act, 1533, which was enacted by Henry VIII, made the offence of buggery punishable by death, and continued to exist for nearly 300 years before it was repealed and replaced by the Offences against the Person Act, 1828. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel