Public interest litigation brought on behalf of civil society organizations working to address the HIV/AIDS crisis in India; Challenge to Section 377 of Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes consensual homosexual conduct; Discriminatory laws and policies impaired HIV/AIDS prevention measures; Domestic Application of International Law; Equality / Non-Discrimination.
On July 9, 2009, India’s Supreme Court sent notice that the Court would consider an appeal in response to a petition by two private citizens seeking to defend the law on moral grounds, however, on July 20, 2009 the Court refused to suspend the decriminalization of homosexual conduct under section 377 prior to appeals being heard. Meanwhile, the Naz Foundation India is currently working with police in New Delhi, conducting weekly training workshops to build awareness of HIV / AIDS to effectively tackle issues of discrimination, physical harassment, corruption and human rights.
Advocates in India have hailed this decision as a major victory for LGBT rights and the right to adequate health, including information on HIV/AIDS and treatment in India. The reasoning of the Court makes the critical linkages between non-discrimination and access to adequate healthcare and how stigma and marginalization can impede access to substantive ESC rights. The Secretary of the Department of AIDS Control, K. Sujatha Rao, has declared that the decision is expected to increase the effectiveness of prevention programs and Director of the Lawyers Collective and current UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Anand Grover, has applauded the Court for “affirming that fundamental rights of sexual minorities cannot be trumped by vague notions of culture and morality.”
Naz Foundation (India) Trust Lawyers Collective (http://www.lawyerscollective.org/)