Historical background:
The legal battle to decriminalise homosexuality in India began with ABVA (AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan) filing a petition which challenged the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the High Court of Delhi in 1994.
Sec 377 IPC, India’s sodomy law, stated:
“Unnatural offences.—Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with 1[imprisonment for life], or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation.—Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.”
Judicial proceedings conducted at the High Court of Delhi and later at the Supreme Court of India over the next 24 years resulted in the Navtej judgment. On 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court of India read down Sec 377 IPC as unconstitutional, and excluded consensual sexual intercourse between adults from its ambit.
Notes on the collection:
This collection, dating back to 1994, presents the various dimensions to the 377 litigation journey and the Marriage Equality judgement through its five series, with material in different media as follows :
I. Court Documents,
II. Research and Writing,
III. Ephemera
IV. Newspaper Articles, and
V. Audio/Video/Visual Materials.
The court documents and research material came to QAMRA from the legal offices of Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore and Jawahar Raja’s Chambers, New Delhi. The audio visual material is from T. Jayashree’s Collection. Ephemera and Newspaper articles are from multiple sources, from different individuals and organisations.
Collection summary:
The Court Documents series and the Research & Writing series contain extensive lists of books , essays, media articles, surveys, reports, judicial precedents, international accords, employment policies and other research papers that the lawyers on both sides consulted while framing their arguments for court. There are also some handwritten notes made by a few of the lawyers that have been preserved here. The Ephemera series and the News Articles/Scholarly Works series both depict the collective and individual efforts undertaken in sensitising, mobilising and collectivising different sections of society to support the decriminalisation of homosexuality. The Audio/Video/Visual series has interviews with the lawyers, activists and individual intervenors who were all involved with the legal process. This series also helps to document the deeply personal aspect that is inseparable from this interaction with the law.