INDIA: 'Gays can't be denied rights over moral grounds'

26 Sep 2008, 0251 hrs IST,TNN  NEW DELHI: Gay rights activists on Thursday contended before the Delhi high court that the government cannot infringe upon their fundamental right to equality and continue to criminalize homosexual acts on the grounds of morality.  "The Constitution gives fundamental right to equality and it prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. But these rights of 25 lakh homosexuals in the country are being violated," advocate Shyam Diwan, appearing for gay rights activists claimed before a bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah.
The court was hearing a petition filed by a clutch of NGOs, including Naz Foundation, seeking the court's direction to decriminalize homosexual acts in private among consenting adults by amending Section 377 of IPC.
"Moral argument cannot triumph over the constitutional rights in a democratic society where fundamental rights prohibit any discrimination on the ground of sex," Diwan said.