United Nations Radio

A landmark ruling by an Indian court repealing a law that criminalizes homosexual acts has been hailed by the United Nations agency dealing with HIV/AIDS as setting an important precedent for the world. UNAIDS hopes it would encourage more HIV victims in India to come forward to seek treatment and information. Bissera Kostova reports.

Timberlake 1: UNAIDS and the current Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe, have made it a major priority to get rid of, to eliminate punitive laws in the context of HIV. And one of these punitive laws are laws that criminalize homosexuality, or consenting sexual acts between adults.

NARRATOR: Susan Timberlake, leader of the Human Rights and Law Team at UNAIDS says about 80 countries in the world have such laws on the books.

Timberlake 2: We are hoping, UNAIDS is hoping that this will continue, that there will basically be more and more countries decriminalizing these activities, because we think it's not only right but it's necessary for effective responses to HIV.

NARRATOR: Pradeep Kakkattil, Chief of the Technical Support Division of UNAIDS, says criminalizing homosexuality prevents men who have sex with men from seeking HIV prevention and treatment services.

Kakkattil 1: For example, if they needed medical attention, if they had a sexually transmitted infection, they would not go to a doctor, because of fear of being identified as gay, and potentially being reported to the police and then there could be serious implications - they could either be blackmailed, they could be put in prison, they would have to up money, and also the violence, which used to happen, and which happens now.

NARRATOR: Anand Grover is the lawyer who argued the case before New Delhi High Court to repeal the homophobic law.

Grover 1: If it's consensual, if it's adult, if it's in private, it is no longer criminal - they have held that to be in violation of the right to life and liberty under Article 21 of our Constitution, the right to equality, and the right to specific gender equality and gender orientation. And for the first time the Delhi High Court has held sex to include sexual orientation, which is a big advance.

NARRATOR: Mr. Grover described the decision as an historic event, because India was the country where the anti-sodomy laws were first enacted and the same law was then replicated all over the British Commonwealth. Now he hopes, the decision to repeal it will similarly serve as a precedent.

Grover 2: A lot of judgments of India on the Right to Health are followed in African countries, in Latin American countries and in Asian countries, and are quoted quite extensively. So this will be a good thing for other countries to follow. They can use this. Of course, this judgment also uses the decisions of the US courts, of the South African court, the Hong Kong court, and Fiji. And this is the normal way the courts actually go, because they change incrementally. They are not revolutionaries, they change slowly and they like to have other countries' precedents.

NARRATOR: Anand Grover says the decision can still be appealed before India's Supreme Court, but he hopes it will be upheld.

Grover 3: We can't say what will happen in the Supreme Court, because it's an independent court and also it would depend on the views of the judges on these issues, but on constitutional grounds, I think the Delhi High Court judgment is very well written, it follows the trends internationally. It has gone on what is known as the equality, privacy, dignity troika claim and I think that's a very strong foundation for sustaining it. It would be difficult for the Supreme Court to just set it aside so easily.

NARRATOR: Anand Grover, Director of the Lawyers Collective on HIV/AIDS in India. For UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova.

duration: 3'24"