The Supreme Court on Thursday partly struck down Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex.
A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court today unanimously decriminalised part of the 158 year-old colonial law.
The bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra termed the part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises unnatural sex as irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.
The bench, which also comprised Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, struck down Section 377 as being violative of the right to equality.
The Supreme Court said other aspects of Section 377 dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children remain in force.
