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LGBT RIGHTS!

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LGBT RIGHTS
"It takes some intelligence and insight to figure out
you're gay and then a tremendous amount of balls to
live it and live it proudly."--Jason Bateman

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What is LGBT

• Lesbian : A lesbian woman is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to women.
Many lesbians prefer to be called lesbian rather than gay.

• GAY : A gay man is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to men. The word gay
can be used to refer generally to lesbian, gay and bisexual people but many women prefer to be called
lesbian. Most gay people don’t like to be referred to as homosexual because of the negative historical
associations with the word and because the word gay better reflects their identity.

• BISEXUAL : A bisexual person is someone who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to
people of genders both the same and different to their own.

• TRANSGENDER : "Transgender" is an umbrella term that describes people whose gender identity or expression does
not match the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, a transgender person may identify as a woman despite
having been born with male genitalia. The Williams Institute says there are nearly
700,000 people living publicly as transgender in the U.S. Each one is unique.

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Timeline: The struggle against section 377 began

over two decades ago

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How It Became Possible ?

(LEGAL STRUGGLE)

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Suresh Kumar Kaushal vs. Naz Foundation

What’s Naz Foundation?

• The NAZ Foundation (India) Trust (NI) is a New Delhi based NGO that has been working on HIV/AIDS
and sexual health from 1994 onwards.

Facts

• Naz Foundation filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court challenging the constitutional validity
of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. This section penalizes unlawful sexual acts ‘against the order of
nature’ which has the effect of criminalizing even consensual sexual intercourse between two adults of the
same sex or even of the opposite sex indulging in penile non-vaginal sexual activities. The petitioner
contended that Section 377 encroached upon Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India and
also that the section ought not to criminalize consensual penile non-vaginal sex between two consenting
adults of the same sex.
Issues :

• 1. Whether Section 377 violates any of the provisions of Part III of the Constitution of India and therefore
whether it is constitutionally valid or not?
• 2. Whether Section 377, in so far it criminalizes consensual sexual activity of two adults of the same sex in
private, is violating Article 21(Right to life and personal liberty) guaranteed by the Constitution of India?

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JUDGEMENTS
• Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi (High Court)
In a landmark judgment, a Delhi high court bench consisting of chief
justice Ajit Prakash Shah and justice S Muralidhar 
decides to strike down section 377, saying it violates the fundamental
rights to life, liberty, and equality as enshrined in the Indian constitution.
But critics, including Suresh Kumar Koushal, a Delhi-based astrologer,
challenge the Delhi high court’s decision in the supreme court.

• Suresh Kumar Koushal and another v NAZ Foundation and Others

"In view of the discussion, we hold that Section 377 IPC does not suffer
from the vice of unconstitutionality and the declaration made by the
Division Bench of the High court is legally unsustainable."

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Navtej Singh Johar V/S Union of

India
Facts
  Navtej Singh Johar, a dancer who identified as part of the LGBT community,
filed a Writ Petition in the Supreme Court in 2016 seeking recognition of
the right to sexuality, right to sexual autonomy and right to choice of a
sexual partner to be part of the right to life guaranteed by Art. 21 of the
Constitution of India (Constitution). Furthermore, he sought a declaration
that Section 377 was unconstitutional. The Petitioner also argued that
Section 377 was violative of Art. 14 of the Constitution (Right to Equality
Before the Law) because it was vague in the sense that it did not define
“carnal intercourse against the order of nature”. [p.25, para 26] There was
no intelligible differentia or reasonable classification between natural and
unnatural consensual sex.

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LGBT COMMUNITY WINS
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• "Look for the rainbow in every-crowd... Equality and liberty

and this freedom can only be fulfilled when each one of us
realizes LGBT community has same rights as other citizens”
– Justice Deepak Mishra.

• “Homosexuality is not a mental disorder, which has been also

recognised by Parliament. Centre must give wide periodic
publicity to the SC judgment to eliminate stigma attached to
LGBT community.” – Justice R.F. Nariman

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WHAT’S NEX T?

• Same-sex marriage
• Same-sex adoption
• LGBT discrimination
• Homosexuals serving openly in military
• Conversion therapy

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My opinion
• Gay people in India are murdered or forced to commit suicide daily. Trans
women are sexually assaulated people who do harm to anyone else but just
to live the way they are treated absolutely inhumanely all over the country.
• We can give a positive answer to our children & our grandchildren about
the shameful way we treated other HUMANS.
• Same-sex marriage has been legalized in twenty-seven countries,
including the United States, and civil unions are recognized in many
Western democracies. 
• Section 377 has been partially decriminalised.

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THANK YOU

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