September 7, 2018
“Neutral” position of the Centre Government on the legality of Section 377 IPC, which criminalised homosexuality, did not go well with the Supreme Court. Instead of washing its hands of taking a definite position on Section 377 and leaving it to the “wisdom of the court”, Government should have taken a “categorical” stand one way or the other Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said questioning Government's ambiguous behavior.
Justice Chandrachud in his 180-page 'Separate Opinion' for the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court says “All that the stand of the government indicates is that it is to the ‘wisdom’ of this Court that the matter is left."
"In reflecting upon this appeal to our wisdom, it is just as well that we as judges remind ourselves of a truth which can unwittingly be forgotten: flattery is a graveyard for the gullible.”
He further added that the ambivalence of the government doesn't counter the necessity for a judgment on the issues raised. Whether the govt has a position or not, the court must plainly do its duty to the LGBTQ community and the Indian Constitution. The challenge to the constitutional validity of Section 377 must squarely be addressed.
“Constitutional issues are not decided on concession,” Justice Chandrachud observed.
Source: The Hindu
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