As many as 189 Indian citizens used sexual orientation as a ground to seek asylum in the United Kingdom since 2015, but applications fell after the Apex Court struck down Section 377 of IPC in 2018, figures released on Thursday show.

According to latest immigration statistics from the Home Office for the year ending June 2020, the list of top 5 countries whose citizens mentioned sexual orientation in asylum applications is headed by Pakistan, followed by Nigeria, Bangladesh, Malaysia & Namibia.

Applications from Indian citizens on the basis of sexual orientation for the last 5 years were: 33 (2015), 59 (2016), 54 (2017), 21 (2018) & 22 (2019), the figures show. Of the total number of 189 applications, decisions (grants or refusals) were reached in 163 cases.

The Home Office’s country policy & information note for India on notes that on Sept 6, 2018, the Top Court ruled that consensual sexual acts between adults, conducted in private, was no longer an offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

“The historic ruling effectively scrapped the colonial law, which deemed sex between consenting gay men, a punishable offence”, the note adds.

The 189 applications based on sexual orientation were among overall 8837 asylum applications made by Indian citizens in the period 2015-19. Of all asylum applications from citizens of various countries, the grant rates are among the lowest for Indians: 3%.

The figures also record that the list of the largest number of voluntary returns to the country of origin of those either detained under immigration rules or those who are in the country illegally is topped by Indians: 1,290, or 16% in the year ending June 2020.

Visitor visas issued during the year were down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese & Indian nationals accounted for 42% of all such visas issued, but they were down 44% for Chinese & 41% for Indians compared to the previous year.

The Home Office said that “There were falls in the number of visitor visas granted due to travel restrictions implemented in response to Covid-19 to almost all nationalities, with the largest falls seen for: Chinese nationals, down 273,105 (-44%); Indian nationals, down 206,206 (-41%)". 

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