New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to treat a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) as a representation and take a decision on the exclusion of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)- like provision for the offences of unnatural sex and sodomy in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaced the Indian Penal Code from July 1.
Decide representation expeditiously, preferably within six months, High Court asked Centre
A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed the Centre to decide the representation expeditiously, preferably within six months.
The bench, which earlier asked the counsel representing the Centre to take instructions on the issue, said that there can’t be a vacuum to an offence and the Centre must understand this.
“What people were asking was not to make consensual (unnatural) sex punishable. You made even non-consensual (unnatural) sex non punishable. Suppose, something happens outside the court today, are we all to shut our eyes because it is not a penal offence in the statute books?” the bench said.
Matter was under active consideration of government and a holistic view will be taken, Centre told High Court
The counsel representing the Centre told the bench that the matter was under active consideration of the government and a holistic view will be taken. The counsel added that since views of all stakeholders are required to be taken, some time is needed for deliberations.
“If it requires an ordinance that can also come. We are also thinking aloud. Since you are indicating some problems, the process will likely take a long way. We are just thinking aloud,” the bench said.
PIL sought a direction to Centre to amend BNS to in corporate provisions criminalising non-consensual unnatural sexual acts
The court was hearing a PIL filed by lawyer Gantavya Gulati, who sought a direction to the Union of India to amend the BNS to incorporate explicit provisions criminalising non-consensual unnatural sexual acts.
The court disposed of the PIL with the direction to the Centre to treat the PIL as representation and take a decision on it and granted liberty to the petitioner to revive the plea in case there is a delay on the government’s part to decide his representation.
Section 377 of the repealed IPC was decriminalised by the Supreme Court for consensual unnatural sexual acts between two adults in 2018 and non-consensual unnatural sex, all acts of carnal intercourse against minors and acts of bestiality continued to be a punishable offence.
