New Delhi's highest court issued a landmark ruling Thursday that decriminalized gay sex between consenting adults in India by declaring a colonial-era ban on homosexuality unconstitutional.

The decision by the Delhi High Court was hailed by gay activists here as a historic step in their struggle to achieve equal rights in a conservative society that largely regards homosexuality as a taboo illness.

The court ruled that the existing ban on homosexual acts was discriminatory and therefore a violation of individual rights guaranteed by the constitution.

Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1860 under a statute introduced by British colonial rulers that banned "carnal intercourse against the order of nature." Conviction carried a fine and maximum 10-year jail sentence.