Law and Enforcement

In September 2018, the Supreme Court of India, in the Navtej Johar and ors. ruling reversed a previous (December 2013) Koushal verdict. The 2018 ruling upheld the progressive Naz Foundation verdict of Delhi High Court, that, in 2009, had ruled that it was unconstitutional to criminalise consenting relationships among adults.

Details of the Naz and Koushal verdicts and subsequent updates such as the Right to Privacy verdict are available at Orinam on the http://377.orinam.net site.

In an independent development, the Supreme Court, in its April 2014 NALSA judgement, ruled that transgender Indians had all the rights of other citizens and directed ministries and institutions to ensure non-discrimination and inclusion of transgender people. In 2019 the Trans Act was passed, followed by issuance of the final Rules in September 2020. Articles related to the NALSA ruling and transgender bills, including legal analyses and commentary are found at the link https://orinam.net/resources-for/law-and-enforcement/nalsa-petition-tg-rights-india/

We also feature a collection of anti-discrimination materials, relevant to the LGBTIQA+ and other communities that face marginalization. These and other resources such as the Transgender Rights Bill, Yogyakarta Principles, same-sex marriage in India, and other resources, may be accessed from the menu on the left.

We also seek essays and links to other laws that impact the LGBT community, such as Sections 361, 362 and 366, that continue to be used against lesbian women, and provisions such as  Section 339 and 340, and the Domestic Violence Act (2005) that may be used to free queer women from wrongful confinement by their families. A 2009 article on these issues by Ponni Arasu and the late Priya Thangarajah is here.

You are welcome to contact us, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.