The Indian Penal Code (IPC), an act of legislation drafted by the British in the mid-nineteenth century, can certainly pose various limitations on the LGBTQ+ community with its immoral and sexually explicit nature of Section 377. In this context, the recent judgment of the Supreme Court acquitting part of Section 377 IPC (Indian Penal Code) to be unconstitutional is a historic one: It also marks a giant leap towards the constitutional goal of ‘inclusiveness,’ by recognizing the rights of members of an ostracized minority group. The recently decriminalized Sec377 of IPC is very crucial for the LGBTQ community because it had the potential to give rise to a new generation of rights and regulations. The judgment of the apex court de-criminalizing the consensual private sex between Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender has got mixed reactions from various sections in society.
The struggle for securing the right to marriage is not just a struggle for ‘Equality’ as is perceived by the LGBTQ+ community, but it is an opportunity to remove one of the largest hurdles that lay in the path of gender equality. Homosexuality is now legal in India, but still, same-sex marriages are often viewed as unnatural behavior, due to which LGBTQ+ couples are often ridiculed and suffer from mental abuse. The motive behind legalizing same-sex marriages is not to screen out love between the couple. The question of 377 is greater than just decriminalizing homosexuality and the lives of LGBT people in India. It is about going into the basics of how a particular community leads their life in a nation. The issue goes to the very root cause of discrimination and prejudice that exist in our society. This is what we have to fight out with, not just like Section 377, but fighting for the basic rights of all minorities and sexualities on this planet.
The idea of decriminalizing Section 377 IPC is because of the fundamental attribution error, in which the nature of homosexuality can be changed by educating people about it. Moreover, from a utilitarian perspective, homosexuals are a minority who usually suffers from mental disorders and suicide rates are higher if they are not allowed to form relationships. Therefore, the legalization of homosexual relationships will be helpful for society as well.