India Ordered to Clarify Antigay Laws
The Advocate,
January 17, 2003
http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?id=7490&sd=01/17/03
A court has ordered the Indian government to respond within a month to an
AIDS organization’s suit seeking an end to a law that makes same-sex
relations a crime, a newspaper reported Thursday. New Delhi high court chief
justice Devinder Gupta and Justice B.D. Ahmed told the government to file an
affidavit within four weeks making clear its stand, The Indian Express
reported.
There have been few cases in recent years of prosecution under the law,
which declares homosexual activity a crime punishable by up to 10 years in
prison. But the Naaz Foundation, which brought the suit, said police use the
threat of the law to harass gay people, who are afraid to come forward to seek
AIDS prevention help. The foundation said the harassment is a violation of
human rights. "Despite a number of adjournments, no affidavit is filed by
the [the federal government] and a last opportunity is given to it to submit
it within four weeks," the judges said in their order on Wednesday.
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