06.12.2006 - Source: BBC News

Orissa: Kandha tribe has given its consent to a lesbian 'marriage' ("Tribe blesses lesbian 'marriage'") [ID 18107]

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17.05.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Fälle von Menschenrechtsverletzungen von Homosexuellen (""The Hall of Shame"") [ID 15728]

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11.01.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Lucknow: Arrests of 4 gay men for engaging in "unnatural sex" and operating a "gay racket" on the internet ("India: Repeal Colonial-Era Sodomy Law") [#41562],  [ID 6721]

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13.01.2005 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Annual report on human rights situation in 2004 ("World report 2005") [#28211],  [ID 6723]

"[...]This provision has also been used to penalize men having sex with men, and has been used as justification for harassment of HIV/AIDS educators. The Delhi High Court dismissed a legal challenge to section 377, dealing a disappointing set back for activists working to improve the rights of gay and lesbian people in India. [...]"

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10.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Homosexuals ("Country Report - October 2004") [#28325],  [ID 6722]

"[...]6.335 According to Foreign and Commonwealth correspondence dated 1996, homosexuality as such is not illegal in India. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (1860) proscribes "unnatural offences", which are defined as penetrative intercourse "against the order of nature" with man, woman or animal. Certain practices might therefore be deemed illegal in India. However the scope of the definition has not been much tested in the courts and cases India October 2004 under section 377 are rare. [7b] According to a report for the Swedish Embassy by a Delhi law firm in 1997, “It is punishable with ten years’ imprisonment and a fine; however no-one so far, is known to have been awarded a ten year sentence for having been found guilty of this offence. The maximum punishment reported is two years.” [48](p2) However, Arvind Narrain of the Alternative Law Forum, in an article entitled – ‘Homosexuality in India, Where Tradition Still Rules (published 8 June 2003)’ is quoted as saying, “Section 377 is used to criminalise and prosecute homosexuals. It actually legitimises the abuse of homosexuals”. [75] (p.1) The Times of India, in an article dated 18 September 2003, reported the view of another gay rights activist who considered that “Gays are beaten up and even raped under the cloak of this law [Section 377].” [13c] (p.2)

6.336 The International Lesbian and Gay Association world legal survey, (last updated in 1999) states that same-sex male sexual activity is illegal and is punishable under Unnatural offences 377 of the Indian penal code. [49]

6.337 According to a report published by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties – Karnataka in February 2001,”Many people deny the existence of sexuality minorities in India, dismissing same-sex behaviour as a Western, upper class phenomenon. Many others label it as a disease to be cured, an abnormality to be set right or a crime to be punished. While there are no organised hate groups in India as in the West, the persecution of sexuality minorities in India is more insidious”. [74] (p.18)

6.338 The People’s Union for Civil Liberties – Karnataka, reported in February 2001, that “All sexuality minorities, i.e. gays, bisexuals, lesbians, transgender, transvestites, hijras [hermaphrodites or eunuchs] and other homosexual men and women, suffer in different degrees social and political marginalisation due to their sexuality and or gender”. The report found a sharp increase in the numbers of attacks on sexuality minorities in Bangalore, including harassment and illegal detention by the police of gay and bisexual men in public places. [74] (p.8)

6.339 According to the People’s Union for Civil Liberties – Karnataka (February 2001), testimonies gathered for the purpose of the report found that oppression by the police counted as the major concern of gay, bisexual and transgender people. Such abuse by the police generally consisted of extortion, illegal detention and abuse. Extortion usually involved the threat of ‘outing’ to family and the wider community unless a bribe was paid. Reports of illegal detention, varying from overnight to a few days and verbal and physical abuse and / or sexual abuse was reported as common. [74] (p.13)

6.340 However, according to the People’s Union for Civil Liberties – Karnataka (February 2001), one welcome development was the formation in April 2000 of a coalition of sexual minorities (including a lawyer’s collective and a woman’s group) to resist increasing police violations. [74] (p.15)

6.341 According to a BBC news article dated 29 May 2001, homosexual relationships are not unheard of in India, but they generally exist in the country's larger cities where people can be more open about their sexuality. [32ae] According to the People’s Union for Civil Liberties – Karnataka (February 2001), a number of cities and larger towns, such as: Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Patna, Lucknow, Akola, Trichi and Gulbarga, had a number of resources for gays, lesbians and transgender communities that include - help-lines, publications/newsletters, health resources, social spaces and drop-in centres. [74] (p.8)

6.342 As reported in a BBC News article dated 29 May 2001, in May 2001, it was reported that a lesbian couple had married in a Hindu ceremony, believed to be one of the first gay weddings in the country. The marriage still needed the approval of the local registrar to be legalised. The registry office refused to grant approval because Indian law does not recognise gay marriages. Gay rights campaigners however, welcomed the news. [32ae]

6.343 India’s gay community has begun to assert itself in recent years, according to a BBC news report dated 29 June 2003, cities such as Bombay and Bangalore have become centres for gay culture. [32bd] The BBC reported on 19 June 2003 that there are regular gay parties in bars and pubs. There are other gay clubs in cities such as Delhi and Bangalore. [32be] It was reported by the BBC on 29 June 2003 that up to 100 people marched in a gay rights parade in Calcutta. [32bd]

6.344 According to a BBC news report dated 4 September 2003, India’s eunuchs (Hijra) are demanding the right to be treated with tolerance and respect. [32eh] According to Wikipedia.com (last updated on 14 August 2004), in Indian culture, a hijra is a person belonging to a group that is often called ‘the third sex’ of India. A hijra is someone who was born with a male body, but with non-male or female gender identity; and also people born with ambiguous genitalia. Some are forced to become hijra or choose to be castrated. The hijra or ‘third sex, belong to a special caste and participate in a religious cult with its own mother goddess, Bahuchara Mata. [76a] According to the BBC news report of 4 September 2003, it is estimated that there are between 500,000 and one million hijras living in India. Because of growing societal prejudice, many hijras are unable to find work in their communities and therefore have had to resort to begging and prostitution to survive. It is reported that hijras’ face routine harassment and abuse by police and the wider community. [32eh] [...]"

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19.09.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

Report commenting on the report of the Malimath Committee on Reforms of the Criminal Justice System ("Report of the Malimath Committee on Reforms of the Criminal Justice System: Some observations") [#16255],  [ID 6724]

"The Committee's silence on the protection of the human rights of the poor, dalits and minorities are by no means the only ones. A "comprehensive reform" of the criminal justice system was an opportunity to overhaul the system in a manner that could also address major human rights concerns of other vulnerable groups. These include decriminalizing consensual same sex relations while criminalizing child sexual abuse and addressing the serious challenges faced by the mentally ill, all areas in which the prevailing standards are way behind internationally accepted standards of protection.(31)"

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