Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India

Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India
Court	Supreme Court of India
Full case name	Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. versus Union of India thr. Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice
Decided	6 September 2018
Citation(s)	2018 INSC 790
Case history
Prior action(s)	Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation
Court membership
Judges sitting	Dipak Misra, CJI; Rohinton Fali Nariman, J.; A. M. Khanwilkar, J; D. Y. Chandrachud, J; and Indu Malhotra, J
Case opinions
The Court decriminalised all consensual sex among adults, including homosexual sex.
Decision by	Dipak Misra, R. F. Nariman, D. Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra
Plurality	Dipak Misra, joined by A. M. Khanwilkar
Laws applied
This case overturned a previous ruling
Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation by Supreme Court of India
Keywords
Criminalization of Homosexuality, Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. v. Union of India thr. Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice (2018) is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that decriminalised all consensual sex among adults, including homosexual sex.^[1]

The court was asked to determine the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial-era law which, among other things, criminalised homosexual acts as an "unnatural offence". While the statute criminalises all anal sex and oral sex, including between opposite-sex couples, it largely affected same-sex relationships.^[2] On 6 September 2018, the court unanimously declared the law unconstitutional "in so far as it criminalises consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex".^[3] The verdict was hailed as a landmark decision for LGBT rights in India, with campaigners waiting outside the court cheering after the verdict was pronounced.^[2]

Elements of Section 377 relating to sex with minors, non-consensual sexual acts such as rape, and bestiality remain in force.^[4]