GayBombay: Bangladeshi jurist hails Delhi HC judgement on homosexuality

Bangladeshi jurist hails Delhi HC judgement on homosexuality

New Delhi http://www.zeenews.com/news546550.html

, July 12: A Bangladeshi jurist on Sunday hailed the path-breaking judgement of Delhi High Court legalising gay sex among the consenting adults saying that the verdict showed judicial courage and creativity.

"The High Court judgement on a petition filed by Naz foundation demonstrated judicial courage and creativity. It also restores fundamental rights of a group of persons and protects them from social taboos," Kamal Hossain, eminent jurist and former foreign minister of Bangladesh said.

He also said the judgement decriminalising homosexual acts among the adults had drawn international interest.

The Delhi High Court in a landmark judgement on July 02 had legalised homosexual acts among consenting adults holding that the 149-year-old law making it a criminal offence was violative of fundamental rights and not punishable.

Delivering the third VM Tarkunde Memorial Lecture here, Hossain highlighted the role played by the public interest litigations (PILs) in bringing about the social change in both Bangladesh and India.

Despite the criticism that the PILs seems to be moving away from the poor and unprivileged to the middle classes in late 1990s, Supreme Courts of both the countries expanded opportunities for the people by generating jurisprudence, he said.

Hossian, also a former Bangladesh law minister, said the PILs came a long way in removing child labour, expanding right to life and livelihood and protecting women.

Bureau Report