On criminalisation and pathology: a commentary on the Supreme Court judgment on Section 377

Abstract

The judgment delivered last week by the Supreme Court of India, upholding the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), overturns a judgment by the Delhi High Court in 2009 that decriminalised sexual activity between two consenting adults. This judgment has unleashed a veritable firestorm of protest in the public space. There has been a heated and vitriolic debate on this issue in the print and social media, as well as television, with public opinion, in the main, being critical of the judgment.