NEW DELHI: Amid an uproar over the Supreme Court verdict on gay rights issue, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi today said she was disappointed that the apex court had reversed a previous Delhi High Court judgment decriminalizing homosexuality and hoped Parliament would address the matter.
“I hope that Parliament will address the issue and uphold the constitutional guarantee of life and liberty to all citizens of India, including those directly affected by the judgment,” the UPA Chairperson said.
Gandhi said that she was “disappointed” that the Supreme Court has reversed a previous Delhi High Court ruling on the issue of gay rights but also noted that the Supreme Court also suggested another course.
She was obviously alluding to the option of legislation.
“The high court had widely removed an archaic repressive and unjust law that infringed on the basic human rights enshrined in our Constitution.
“This Constitution has given us a great legacy, a legacy of liberalism and openness, that enjoin us to combat prejudice and discrimination of any kind,” the Congress President said in a statement.
She said, “We are proud that our culture has always been an inclusive and tolerant one”.
In a big blow to the LGBT community, the Supreme Court had yesterday set aside the landmark high court judgment decriminalizing gay sex and threw the ball in Parliament’s court for amending law.–PTI
