The Supreme Court has been hearing a batch of petitions seeking the legalisation of same-sex marriages, the next corrective measure in India바카라s progress towards decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, heading the five-judge bench, questioned the need for being of binary gender for marriage and asserted that same-sex relationships are "not just physical바카라 but also had stable, 바카라emotional바카라 factors involved.
The apex court also observed that the very notion of a man and a woman is not 바카라an absolute based on genitals바카라, while Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for one of the petitioners, said that the court should grant marriage equality to gay couples not as 바카라same-sex바카라 but as a right for consenting adults across "bodily gender and sex spectrum".
Meanwhile, last week, four Army personnel were shot dead in their sleep at the Bathinda military station in Punjab by a fellow colleague, who initially concocted a story about seeing two men with guns to confuse investigators. The Punjab Police eventually arrested the man, an Indian Army soldier, identified as Gunner Desai Mohan. Later, reports surfaced that said Mohan shot his fellow soldiers after they harassed him and sodomised him.
What we know about the incident
On April 12, four Indian Army soldiers at the Bathinda military station were killed in the early hours in their sleep. Mohan claimed to be the 바카라only eye witness바카라 in the case. A stolen rifle and 19 bullet casings were recovered from the spot, reported The Tribune at the time, adding that the rifle was reported missing on April 9.
Mohan, who was on duty that night, was later arrested for the killing. He also confessed to his involvement in stealing of an INSAS rifle after a sustained interrogation, according to The Pioneer. His initial claim of two masked people with a rifle and axe shooting his colleagues and running away to the forest was an 바카라attempt to divert attention of investigating agencies바카라, the Army said in a statement shared by media.
At the same time, reports said that he killed his colleagues because they abused him. In the official statement, however, the police have only said the action was rooted in 바카라personal animosity바카라.
According to a Hindustan Times report, Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Singh Khurana said that his motive was personal. He refrained from speaking about any harassment Mohan was allegedly facing. A report by The Pioneer, on the other hand, claimed that police said his statement indicated sexual harassment and sodomisation by the four deceased soldiers.
While further clarity is awaited on the nature of harassment Mohan was reportedly subjected to, here바카라s how the Indian Army views homosexuality.
Is homosexuality legal in Indian Army?
Despite the Supreme Court바카라s judgment in 2018 striking down a part of Section 377 and decriminalising homosexual activity, homosexuality continues to be considered an offence in the Indian armed forces.
바카라LGBT issues are not acceptable in the army,바카라 said former Army chief General Bipin Rawat during a press briefing in January 2019.
Rawat바카라s remarks had stirred a controversy after he said the Indian Army was 바카라neither modernised nor Westernised바카라 but 바카라conservative바카라 when it came to matters like homosexuality. He had declared that gay sex offenders were to be dealt with under relevant sections of the Army Act.
Last year, the Ministry of Defence rejected a film directed by National Award winner Onir, inspired by the real-life story of an ex-Indian Army officer who had come out openly as gay. The filmmaker took to social media saying that the ministry had rejected his script for the movie as it showed the Army in a 바카라bad light바카라.
What rules apply to gay sex in the military?
More than four years after the decriminalisation of gay sex, it is still not applicable to the three arms of the Indian military.
According to Section 45 of the Army Act, 1950, any act 바카라with a manner unbecoming바카라 of an officer바카라s position and the 바카라character expected of him바카라 can result in him being recalled from service.
Meanwhile, Section 46 (a) states any person guilty of forms of disgraceful conduct of 바카라a cruel, indecent or unnatural kind바카라 will face up to seven years in jail upon conviction by court-martial.
Section 63 of the Army Act, 1950, on the other hand, pertains to actions considered 바카라prejudicial to good order and military discipline바카라, although it is not specified.
These are the legal provisions that can be used to prosecute gay sex in the military.
What do foreign laws say on this?
Similar to India, the fight for recognition of LGBTQ rights in the military has had a long history elsewhere in the world. The United States followed a 바카라Don바카라t Ask Don바카라t Tell바카라 policy till 2011 when President Barack Obama signed a repeal act to prevent the discharge of personnel who openly identified as being homosexual.
In the United Kingdom, a ban against LGBT persons serving in the armed forces was lifted in 2000. The Department of Defence had even issued an apology in 2007 to the personnel who faced persecution and discrimination based on their sexual orientation.
Other countries like Sweden, New Zealand and Israel have inclusive laws protecting LGBT individuals in the military.
