Held: The Delhi High Court held that “Section 377 IPC, insofar as it criminalizes consensual

sexual acts of adults in private, is violative of Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution”

Ratio Decidendi: The discrimination resulting in denial of basic human rights, abuse harassment
and assault by public authorities as the various case studies have been submitted to the Court
when the gay and transgender people are subject to severe violation. They argued that
constitution of India impliedly protects the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution
and Article 14 and 15 protects right to non discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and it
is analogous to word sex. Equality before law and equal protection of law is also violated by the
provision and it is unconstitutional. Naz Foundation also argued that international human rights
regime protects the sexual minorities and protects rights on the basis of sexual orientation. The
protection of dignity demands that the value and worth of all individual as member of society
and it must be observed for the development of an individual and society not according to State.
The right to dignity recognizes and appreciates the innate human dignity of every individual, he
observed that no legislation should treat individual unfairly merely on the basis of personal
characteristics which does not contain any relationship to their merit, capacity or need. The
Court also observed that Sec. 377 treats homosexuals as separate class and there is no reasonable
nexus between classification and object to sought and violates right to equality. The Court
observed that public morality has nothing to do with the private acts of an individual and it is not
subject matter of criminal law because privacy allows an individual to develop his or her
relationship according to will and it is root of human dignity. The Court referred various foreign
judgements and international human rights instruments which are giving space to sexual
minorities as human rights.