Sodomy ruling challenge

The Supreme Court of India will hear from 15 different parties in a case over the constitutionality of the 2009 Delhi High Court decision that overturned India’s sodomy laws.

Supporters of the original ruling the court will hear from include parents of GLBT people, teachers, mental health professionals, and one of India’s most decorated filmmakers, Shyam Bengal.

The parents will argue that criminalising homosexuality destroys families, while the mental health professionals will speak of the damage that recriminalising homosexuality would do to GLBT people.

Arguing for the law to be overturned are 15 other parties, largely Christian, Muslim and Hindu organisations.

The court refused to hear from astrologer Suresh Kumar Kaushal, who sought to include India’s armed forces as a party to the case. However, it will hear from a celebrity yoga master who has in the past claimed he can cure homosexuality with breathing exercises.