Indian Supreme Court strikes down gay sex penal provision

India's Supreme Court today struck down a law from the colonial era that made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Delivering a final ruling on an issue that had gone back and forwards between the courts and Parliament, five judges under Chief Justice Dipak Misra have now ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a fundamental violation of rights.

The 1861 statute in question criminalises all anal and oral sex, but has largely affected same-sex relationships. Human rights groups say police have used the statute to harass and abuse members of the LGBT community.

Religious groups had supported the law, and it will take some time for attitudes to change particularly in rural areas, but campaigners celebrated when the decision was announced.

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, commented: "This historic legal ruling sets free from criminalisation almost one fifth of the world's LGBT+ people. It is the biggest, most impactful gay law reform in human history. I hope it will inspire and empower similar legal challenges in many of the 70 countries that still outlaw same-sex relations, 35 of which are member states of the Commonwealth."

He warned however that there were "still huge challenges to end the stigma, discrimination and hate crime that LGBTs suffer in India".