Health & Home Min battle over gay rights

Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 3:09 am

The Delhi High Court Friday (September 26) pulled up the Centre for speaking in two voices on the homosexuality law. “Two affidavits have been filed by the two ministries (Home and Health). The two ministries are speaking in two voices. What is the stand of government? Are you clear about the stand the central government is taking on the issue,” a Bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and S Muralidhar said.

The court’s remarks came immediately after Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra stood up to argue on behalf of the Centre. The Court was hearing a PIL filed by gay rights activists seeking its direction to decriminalise homosexual acts among consenting adults by amending Section 377 of Indian Penal Code, which entails punishment upto life imprisonment for the offence.

Anbumani Ramadoss, Union Health Minister, said, “Health Ministry has taken a stand on this issue. The Section 377 criminalises unnatural sex. It has become a problem for our National Aids Control Programme.”

The Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health have taken a contradictory stand on the issue with the former favouring retention of penal provisions which make a homosexual act a criminal offence. The health ministry, on the other hand, is in favour of scrapping the penal provision.

Ramadoss: Criminalisation of gax sex hampering NACO programme

Differing with the Centre’s contention on homosexuality, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss today (Sep 24) maintained that criminalisation of gay sex was causing problems in the implementation of the National AIDS Control Programme. Ramadoss, who has earlier sought legalisation of homosexuality, said, “this has become a problem for our programme”.

As the law criminalises homosexuality, people are not coming forward and availing of the AIDS control programmes.

(With inputs from PTI)

( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)

Health & Home Min battle over gay rights

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