What is the significance of Section 377?

sarvesh w

In a landmark judgment on September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court read down Section 377 as a law that violated the dignity and privacy of the LGBTQ community. Among others, trans activists such as Akkai Padmashali and Uma Umesh petitioned against it, and The Chief Justice of India Deepak Misra pronounced Section 377 as “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary”. It is a huge step forward for trans people on their road to legal recognition, but it is also the removal of an obstacle for corporations and other stakeholders. Inclusion efforts were often curtailed due to the misconception that Section 377 criminalised it or criminalised LGBTQ identities, but now nothing stands in the way of an organisation that wants to work towards being more inclusive.