It’s Time To Enact A Siras Act

Context: A case for a law to accord an ex post facto pardon to those who were convicted under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

About Section 377:

• Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a section of the Indian Penal Code introduced in 1861 during the British rule of India. Modelled on the Buggery Act of 1533.
• It makes sexual activities "against the order of nature" illegal.
• On 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the application of Section 377 to consensual homosexual sex between adults was unconstitutional, "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary",[1] but that Section 377 remains in force relating to sex with minors, non-consensual sexual acts, and bestiality.

An overview of judicial interventions

• Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi case, 2009: Delhi High Court decriminalised homosexual acts involving consenting adults, upholding the right to equality enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution.
• Suresh Kumar Koushal vs Naz Foundation case, 2013: Supreme Court reinstated Section 377 in IPC.
• Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. v. Union of India case, 2018: Supreme Court reversed its position on Section 377 in IPC, decriminalising consensual homosexual acts between adults.

Arguments for pardon law

• Case of gross injustice: E.g. the case of Professor Ramachandra Siras from Aligarh Muslim University, who was prosecuted for having consensual sex with another man and died in mysterious circumstances.
  • Homosexuality has always been looked upon with disfavour by three agencies universal to mankind: religion, law and medicine.
• International examples: From Oscar Wilde to Alan Turing haunted by anti-LGBTQ+ laws. The U.K. passed the Alan Turing law in 2017, which grants amnesty and pardon to those convicted of consensual same­ sex relationships.
• Legal misconduct: From 1862 to 2018, when the Supreme Court of India struck down Section 377 of IPC to consensual homosexual behaviour between adults, the LGBTQ+ community was treated as a criminal tribe in India.
• Continuing structural and systemic exclusion, marginalisation, disadvantage, and indignity.

Conclusion: To make amends for the excesses committed against the LGBTQ+ community in the past and present, the Indian state should enact a ‘Siras Act’ on the lines of the Alan Turing law.