India's Supreme Court Bans Gay Sex:

In a major setback to the LGBT community in India, the Supreme Court has over turned a lower court ruling that decriminalized gay sex. 

According to the court the gay sex remains a criminal act.

Immediately after the Supreme Court ruled Gay sex was a criminal act…this was the scene in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar square.

Hundreds of members from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and their supporters wearing black bands and carrying placards reading “It’s a black day for human rights in India” and “proud to be a  gay”.

One of the protesters Shibu has covered his eyes with a black blind fold.

“The law is blind and it will always remain so. It doesn’t see anything, it doesn’t see anyone. Now we also want to turn blind so that we also can‘t see anything. “

The Supreme Court upheld a colonial era law that considers gay sex a serious offence punishable with up to 10-year in jail.

In 2009, the Delhi High Court struck down the law arguing that it violates the rights of equality, privacy and dignity guaranteed under the constitution.

The 2009 judgment had allowed people to organize events like this gay pride parade far more openly.

It help protect gay people from being fired because of their sexuality, and has meant that doctors could no longer refuse to treat homosexuals.

“We became free citizens who did not need to hide and could lead an almost normal life, but from today we are again criminals  and can again be  subjected to harassment and abuse.”

The country remains overwhelmingly conservative and sex outside marriage, even among heterosexual couples, is largely frowned upon.

It seems unlikely the government will risk taking a stand on the issue in the short term.

General elections are due by next May and the socially conservative Hindu nationalist opposition is already gathering momentum.

Hindu religious leaders like Yoga Guru Baba Ram Dev have welcomed the Supreme courts decision.

“By declaring Homosexuality illegal and a criminal offence the Supreme Court has shown respect to the feelings of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and millions of other Indians  who believe in morality. Homosexuality is a violation of human rights, it is inhuman, immoral, unreasonable, unscientific and unnatural.”

Gay rights groups could now seek a review  to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling, but these options rarely succeed.

The activists like Gautam Bhan  hope to have more success by using the media and protests like this one to put public pressure on the court for a U-turn.

“We fought the hardest battle of our lives to accept who we were inside our own hearts. If this court thinks that it knows what fear is like, they have not lived that moment that every queer person in this country has lived and they will listen to us today that if we survived our own demons we will survive this institution as well.”