NEW DELHI (AP) — The Indian government has clarified to the Supreme Court that it accepts a ruling legalizing gay sex in the country.
A lawyer told the Supreme Court on Tuesday the government wouldn’t challenge a lower court’s 2009 order striking down a colonial-era law that made gay sex a crime.
The Supreme Court is hearing opinions from a range of groups after the order was appealed.
Tuesday’s statement came days after another government lawyer told the court gay sex was “highly immoral” and should be banned. The government quickly denied that lawyer’s statement, prompting confusion about its stance on the law.
The old law made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Prosecutions were rare, but the law was used frequently to harass people.
