FREEDOM OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION

 Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21

Article 14- Equality before law
Article 15- Prohibition on the grounds of race, color, caste, creed, sex or place of birth
Article 19- Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech
Article 21- Protection of right and personal liberty

 Held and declared that homosexuality is neither a mental disorder nor mental illness. It is a
normal and natural variant of human sexuality. Any discrimination on basis of sexual orientation
would entail violation of basic rights.
 Writ petition filed for declaring right to sexuality, right to sexual autonomy and right to choice of
a sexual partner to be a right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and
further to declare section 377 of IPC to be unconstitutional.
 In Suresh Koushal case, the Delhi HC judgement was challenged in the Supreme Court. The acts
which fall under the ambit of section 377 can only be determined by the said act and the
circumstances in which it is executed. The court substantiated this further by saying that Section
377 of IPC does not criminalize a particular people or identity or orientation and only identifies
certain acts which, when committed, would constitute an offence. Such a prohibition regulates
sexual conduct regardless of gender identity and orientation.
It was also stated that those who indulge in carnal intercourse in the ordinary case and those
who indulge in it in against the order of nature belong to 2 different classes.
 The court also held that section 377 cannot be termed as ultra vires or it can be said that section
377 suffers from arbitrariness and irrational classification on the ground that only a miniscule
population constitutes lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgender and also that in the last 150
years, less than 200 people have been prosecuted under this section.
 In totality, 5 issues were raised by the petitioners.
o Fundamental rights are available to LGBTQ persons regardless of the fact they constitute
a minority.
o Section 377 is violative of the article 14 of the constitution of India being wholly
arbitrary, vague and has an unlawful objective
o Section 377 is discriminatory under article 15 since it penalizes a person on its sexual
orientation.
o Section 377 prohibits LGBTQ person from expressing their sexual identity and
orientation under article 19(1)(a).
o Section 377 also violates the right to life and liberty guaranteed under article 21.