Abstract
The chameleonic shifts of the Supreme Court of India from being a political actor espousing socioeconomic rights to a mute spectator taking refuge in textual interpretations and excuses grounded on public morality is a recorded fact. Its outlook, as an institution, has unquestionably and at times disturbingly, hinged on the perspectives of the individual judges and the same is all the more visible in its decisions involving socio-moral questions.This reflects in its two decisions of 2013 and 2014 i.e., Suresh Kumar Koushal & Anr v. Naz Foundation & Ors and National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) v. Union of India respectively. While the former judgment stuck down a widely hailed decision of Delhi High Court declaring Section 377 of Indian Penal Code unconstitutional and violative of the basic freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, the latter judgement conferred, for the first time, equal status and right of self-identification to the members of the transgender communities. The present paper makes a critical analysis of the Court’s contrasting stands on sexual orientation and gender identity to decipher the underlying factors which shaped them in the language of Lewis Coser. It would also endeavour to trace the politics environing these contentious issues using the theoretical works of Bruce Ackerman.
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