The Supreme Court has unanimously decriminalised same sex relations between consenting adults. Homosexuality was criminalised under Section 377 of the IPC.  

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, struck down a key component of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC.

The judgement termed the part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises same sex as “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary’’. The judgement, however, said other aspects of Section 377 of IPC dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children shall remain in force.  

The bench, which also comprised Justices R.F.Nariman, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y.Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, struck down Section 377 as being violative for right of equality.

The Supreme Court set aside its own verdict of 2013. In 2017, the Apex Court had said privacy is a fundamental right, opening the door for fresh plea to decriminalise gay sex.

Section 377 refers to `unnatural offences’ and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment with life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

The judgement came on a batch of writ petitions filed by individuals who had sought decriminalisation of consensual sex between two consenting adults of the same sex by declaring Section 377 illegal and unconstitutional.

The issue had been first raised by Naaz Foundation, which approached the Delhi High Court in 2001. The Delhi High Court had in 2009 decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender by holding the penal provision as “illegal.’’

This high court judgement was overturned in 2013 by the Apex Court which also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed which are pending.

The writ petitions were opposed by Apostolic Alliance of Churches and Utkal Christian Association and some other NGOs and individuals, including Suresh Kumar Kaushal.

Important quotes in the judgement:

CJI Dipak Misra and Justice Khanwilkar:

“I am what I am. So take me as I am.”

“Only Constitutional morality and not social morality can be allowed to permeate rule of law…Sexual orientation is one of the many natural phenomena…any discrimination on basis of sexual orientation amounts to violation of fundamental rights.”

Justice Nariman:

“Homosexuals have right to live with dignity. They must be able to live without stigma.”

Justice Chandrachud:

“Human sexuality cannot be reduced to a binary formulation and decriminalising Section 377 is but a first step.”

Justice Indu Malhotra:

“History owes an apology to members of the community for the delay in ensuring their rights.”

Justice Indu Malhotra, the only woman on the five-judge bench, says history owes an apology to the members of the community for the delay in ensuring their rights. In her judgment, she iterates that Section 377 will continue govern non-consensual sexual acts, carnal intercourse with minors and acts of bestiality.

Meanwhile, the United Nations in India has welcomed the landmark ruling by of India on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and hoped that the ruling will be the first step towards guaranteeing full range of fundamental rights to LGBTI ( lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) persons.

In a statement, UN in India said sexual orientation and gender expression form an integral part of an individual’s identity the world over, and violence, stigma and discrimination based on these attributes constitute an egregious violation of human rights. It added that LGBTI persons across the world continue to be the targets of violent attacks and are affected by multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination based on age, gender, ethnicity, disability and social status.

“The UN in India sincerely hopes that the court’s ruling will be the first step towards guaranteeing the full range of fundamental rights to LGBTI persons. We also hope that the judgment will boost efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination against LGBTI persons in all areas of social, economic, cultural and political activity, thereby ensuring a truly inclusive society. The focus must now be on ensuring access to justice, including remedy; effective investigations of acts of violence and discrimination; and effective access to economic, social and cultural rights,” the organisation said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is now actively involved in an ambitious multilingual web series based on his book ‘Why I Am A Hindu”, says any criticism of the current government is frowned upon nowadays.

Tharoor’s next book on the four years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is all set for release.

Being known to be a vocal voice of dissent against the Narendra Modi government, does the author-politician foresee controversy for his new book?

He said: “Not from the readers, the people who read my books… No, they won’t see anything worthy of dissent. However, I can’t predict how the Government in power would react to the book.

“Nowadays, any hint of dissent is frowned upon by the government. Unfortunately, any criticism of the government’s policies, no matter how healthy and just, is taken as an attack on individuals who run the Government. This was not the case when we, of the Congress (I), were in power,” Tharoor said.

“Criticism of the government, was in fact, encouraged then. Now when we are in the opposition, the rules have changed,” he added.

As though the erudite and articulate parliamentarian-academic didn’t have enough on his plate, he has now involved in an adaptation of “Why I Am A Hindu”, for which he will also turn narrator.

He says he agreed to the web series because he believed in the producer, Sheetal Talwar.

“When Sheetal Talwar came to me, I liked his conviction. He made no tall promises. But he assured me the essence of my book would be captured in the series. I have not read the screenplay yet. 

“But I’m confident it will do justice to my thoughts on Hinduism. Nowadays this question of who is a real Hindu is being asked constantly. I want my thoughts on this subject to reach out a wider public than the one afforded by a book.”

Tharoor, who deals simultaneously and actively with his parliamentarian duties, has also authored a large volume of fictional and non-fictional work.

“If we include the book that is coming out in the next few months, it is 17 books. I’ve various other duties and obligations, including an ongoing legal battle to prove my innocence in the case where I’m being made out to be the person that I am not.”

Adding to his schedule is now the web series, which he says is important to him.

“There are many misconceptions about Hinduism in the current times. I am going to be the narrator for the English version of the series. A very distinguished voice will join in for the Hindi version,” he said.

Cinema is one of the pleasures that Tharoor has forfeited in the pursuit of a larger good.

“In the past few years, my work as a parliamentarian and my writings have occupied a large part of my time. Then there are various other imperative pursuits.

“For these, I’ve given up many pleasures, including cinema and cricket. But there is no regret over these losses. I cannot be a rubber stamp politician. Politics is a tool for me to try and improve the status quo to the best of my abilities. Likewise my writing, Tharoor said.

“It is important for me to ensure the thoughts in my book on Hinduism are put out there on a platform where the optimum would be able to receive them,” he added.

Tharoor’s tweets are perceived as works of art, carved and polished with the most chiseled words. 

Taking the compliment graciously, he said: “It’s kind of you to say that. But the truth is, I don’t toil over the tweets.

“The medium demands brevity and one has to finish what one has to say in the shortest possible way.”

In the meanwhile, there are miles and miles to go before Tharoor takes a long nap.

With the January 2014 case pertaining to the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar ongoing against him, he admits the bandwidth of his creativity is somewhat shrunk.

“There is much more that I want to do. But current circumstances restrain me from expressing myself fully. Because of the legal issues, I am not even allowed to speak about the case,” he said.

“My one reassurance in this whole situation is that the people I meet do not seem to believe in what I am being accused of. Wherever I go, I am met with the same warmth and goodwill that I experienced before,” Tharoor said.

 DMK President M.K. Stalin on Wednesday asked the Tamil Nadu Governor to sack Health and Family Welfare Minister C. Vijayabaskar and Director General of Police T.K. Rajendran if they don’t quit on their own after raids by the CBI.

Stalin said in a statement that the continuation of Vijayabaskar and Rajendran would be a blot on democracy and the police administration.

“If they do not resign, then the Governor (Banwarilal Purohit) should dismiss them without any delay,” he said after the Central Bureau of Investigation raided offices and homes in Tamil Nadu in connection with a gutkha scam.

Stalin said the CBI raids had brought shame to Tamil Nadu.

He alleged that the AIADMK government had tried various measures to stall investigation into the scam.

On Wednesday morning, CBI officials from New Delhi searched several places in Tamil Nadu including the houses of the Health Minister and Rajendran.

The case is related to an Income Tax Department raid on the offices, residences and godowns of a gutkha manufacturer in Tamil Nadu in 2016.

A diary seized then listed alleged bribes paid to officials amounting to Rs 39.31 crore.

The Tamil Nadu government has banned the manufacture and storage of gutkha — a tobacco product — since 2013. However, the product was reportedly available in the market with the alleged connivance of police officers and others.

DMK legislator J. Anbazhagan, on whose petition the Madras High Court ordered a CBI probe, also sought the resignation of Rajendran and Vijayabaskar.

“The probe seems to be proceeding on the right track under the CBI. Whether a case will be filed against the scamsters or not will have to be seen,” Anbazhagan told IANS. “If no case is filed, then we may have to approach the Madras High Court again.”

Several political parties had demanded a CBI probe into the issue but the AIADMK government did not agree.

In June, the Enforcement Directorate registered a money laundering case against unnamed government officials in Tamil Nadu based on a first information report (FIR) registered by the CBI in May.

Despite opposition from opposition parties, Rajendran was given a two-year extension in 2018.

An Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-27 aircraft crashed near Jodhpur in Rajasthan during a routine mission on Tuesday but the pilot ejected safely, officials said.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel Sombit Ghosh said a court of inquiry will investigate the cause of the accident.

He clarified that there was some misinformation earlier with respect to the number of pilots.

The MiG-27, which took off from Jodhpur, came down near Devriya village. Villagers were the first to rush to the site.

An eyewitness, Champalal, said two or three fighter planes were in the air when one of them was seen emitting smoke. It came down suddenly with a loud noise and the area was engulfed in thick smoke. 

The pilot was taken to a hospital. 

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Tuesday sent a letter to the Centre recommending Justice Ranjan Gogoi as his successor.

Following the principle of seniority, Chief Justice Misra picked Justice Gogoi, the senior-most judge of the top court after him.

As per convention, the outgoing Chief Justice sends the recommendation for his successor 30 days before he is to demit office so that the Chief Justice-designate is named well in time.

If the recommendation is cleared by the Central government, Justice Gogoi will be administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind on October 3.

CJI Misra is retiring on October 2. But as the day is a national holiday on account of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, October 1 will be his last working day.

The Union Law Ministry had in August last week urged the Chief Justice to recommend his successor.

Justice Gogoi is one of the four Supreme Court judges who had held an unprecedented press conference in January this year, raising concerns about the administration in the apex court, saying it was “not in order”. 

The other three were Justice J. Chelameswar (now retired), Justice M.B. Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph.

Justice Gogoi is from Assam and he headed the special bench that is monitoring the updation of the National Register of Citizens to identify citizens in that state.

Born in 1954, Justice Gogoi joined the Bar in 1978. He was appointed a Permanent Judge of the Gauhati High Court on February 28, 2001.

He was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in September 2010 and went on to become its Chief Justice in February 2011. He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court in April 2012.

Militants abducted two more relatives of Jammu and Kashmir policemen on Friday taking the number to 11 within the last three days, an official said. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has termed the development “worrisome”.

Even when the security forces were working their strategy to recover the hostages safely, a statement purportedly issued by Hizbul operational commander Riyaz Naikoo, on the social media said that henceforth the militants would follow “an eye for an eye policy”.

“Police has compelled us to follow the course of an eye for an eye and an ear for an ear. 

“Policemen are advised in their own interest to give up their jobs or be prepared to face the worst,” Naikoo, whose father was arrested by police two days back, said.

The abducted relatives of policemen include two brothers of police officers and nine sons.

Reacting to the development, former state Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah tweeted: “11 abductions! This is a very worrying reflection of the situation in the valley. 

“What’s worse is the selective outrage — people/leaders who are so vocal about alleged security force excesses are silent about these abductions.”

Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have devised a simple finger prick blood test for cancer. They have discovered the use of nano-particles to trace the levels of microRNA in a blood sample.
The research team used nanoparticles to latch on to the targeted microRNAs (miRNAs) which enabled them to be easily extracted.
RNAs are genetic material used to synthesise proteins. Impaired miRNA activity, or very low levels of microRNA in blood, has been linked with the formation of cancerous tumours as well as metastasis, the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.
One of the main benefits of the test is that it was effective even when the miRNA was in minuscule amounts in the blood sample, according to researchers at UNSW, a QS 50 ranked global university.
In a paper published in Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers reported modifying gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles (Au@MNPs) with DNA to match the miRNA they wanted to detect.
UNSW Professor Justin Gooding said the nanoparticles are, in effect, dispersible electrodes. When circulated through the blood they capture the miRNA. A magnet is then used to recapture the nanoparticles with the attached microRNA.
“Now we get more of the microRNA because the dispersible electrodes capture nearly everything in the sample,” Professor Gooding said.
“Because the capture is so effective, we get higher sensitivities and can detect much lower limits.
The new method, besides being far quicker would be cheaper too.
As one of the world’s leading research and teaching universities, UNSW researchers have done pioneering research and innovation in area as diverse as photovoltaic cells, quantum computing and e-waste management. 
“Our method takes 30 minutes compared with almost 12 hours for quantitative polymerase chain reaction,” Professor Gooding said.
Key to the new technology is not just the ability to detect lower concentrations of miRNA but the ability to detect a broad range of concentrations.
“We can do this very quickly compared with the gold-standard nucleic acid amplification methods. And we can do it in unprocessed blood.
“What this means is the technology has the potential to determine the levels of microRNA just from a finger prick test,” he added.
Professor Gooding said he would expect the technology to be available within three years, pending regulatory approvals.
The new diagnostic technique follows on the heels of a similar advance made by another UNSW research team exploring cancer detection in the blood.
In that study, published in Nature Communications, a team of medical researchers led by Professor Chris Heeschen developed a new way to detect early-stage cancer tumour cells in the blood using a malaria protein. This method, which targeted individual cancer cells found in a blood sample, also used a magnet to retrieve all the targeted cancer cells.
Professor Gooding believes the two methods, while working on very different scales, would be very complementary as tools to diagnose cancer.
“We are detecting small molecules found in the blood which could also identify the type of cancer, while they are looking for rare cells that are responsible for the spread of cancer. The two technologies could work very well together.”

New Delhi : Sixty-five members of the Lok Sabha and 29 of the Rajya Sabha are yet to declare their assets and liabilities, a reply to a query under the RTI Act has revealed.
Out of the MPs belonging to the lower house, 61 have not furnished their details since 2014, while four recently came to the house through by-elections, the Lok Sabha secretariat said in a reply to activist Rachna Kalra, who had put a query under the Right to Information Act.
“As on August 14, 61 Members of 16th Lok Sabha have not yet furnished declarations of their ‘Assets and Liabilities as per the Members of Lok Sabha (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Rules, 2004’.
“Further, four new Member of Lok Sabha who had recently been elected to Lok Sabha in bye-elections are also to furnish the declarations of Assets and Liabilities. They have 90 days time to furnish the same from the date of their taking oath/Affirmation,” the reply reads.
Among those who have not filed their details in the Lower House of the Parliament are nine members from Indian National Congress (INC) and seven from Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Four members each from All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJSP) are also yet to declare their assets.
The list also includes three members from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and two members each from Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Janata Dal (United) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), YSR Congress Party, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), National People’s Party (NPP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), All India NR Congress (AINRC) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) account for one member each who have not given the details of their assets and liabilities.
In the Upper House, under the Members of Rajya Sabha (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Rules, 2004, “current elected members are required to furnish the details of assets and liabilities, within 90 days from the date of taking oath or making affirmation in the Council of States”.
As on August 9, “the requisite declaration of Assets and Liabilities is awaited from 29 members of Rajya Sabha”, another RTI query revealed.
Six members each from BJP and INC were among the members who are yet to declare the assets.
Three members each from RJD, AITC and TRS are also on the list along with two members each from BJD and JD(U).

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) aimed at strengthening financial inclusion by taking banking services to the unbanked rural areas across the country.

The payments bank would initially provide current and savings account facility at 650 post offices and 3,250 access points.

“The India Post Payments Bank will further the process of financial inclusion which started with the launch of Jan Dhan Yojana launched in 2014,” said the Prime Minister speaking at the launch.

By 2018-end, the number of access points would increase to 1.55 lakh, of which 1.30 lakh branches would be in rural areas, according to the Communications Ministry.

“The Indian Postal Department has 1.5 lakh post offices and more than 3 lakh postmen. We have taken the onerous task of linking such an extensive system with technology to build the most powerful system. Now the postman is equipped with a smartphone and has a digital device in his bag,” Modi said.

Farmers and daily wage earners under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme would be among the key beneficiaries as they can receive their claims through the payments bank, he said.

According to the Communications Minister Manoj Sinha, people can open their accounts in the bank in less than a minute through Aadhaar cards and transactions can be done through Quick Response (QR) card provided by the bank without the need to remember account numbers and passwords.

Account holders of the Post Office Savings Bank would also be able to avail of IPPB services by linking their accounts, he added.

Although payment banks are not mandated by the Reserve Bank of India to provide loans and insurance, IPPB has tied up with the Punjab National Bank and would work as an agent of the bank to provide loans to the account holders. Interest on loans would be the rate PNB charges and IPPB would not charge any commission for its service.

The bank would provide services such as current account, savings account, remittances, money transfer, direct benefit transfer, enterprise and merchant payment, the minister said, adding that the services would be available through multiple channels, including counter services, micro ATM, mobile banking applications, SMS and IVR (Interactive Voice Response).

Book: Aryabhata Clan; Author: Sudipto Das; Publisher: Niyogi Books; Price: Rs 595; Pages: 476

Spread across four parts, the narrative of Sudipto Das’ second book, “Aryabhata Clan”, starts like a typical crime thriller with the kidnapping of the protagonist, Kubha.

The book provides evidence that tackling sensitive and complicated topic like “Islamic terrorism” has its inherent risks. It is universally accepted that terrorism has no religion and yet the adrenaline triggered recourse to religion by Shamsur Ali, the terror mastermind of the book, would have us believe that the thick line between religion and terrorism does not exist.

Had the author, an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur, not amplified the canvas of his narrative to encompass “Islamic terrorism”, we surely would have a plot for another James Bond blockbuster, what with all the international intrigues, and the beach volley played between India’s RAW and Pakistan’s ISI,

The oft repeated, misplaced references to the history of Islam by the terrorists can, however, act like a double edged sword in the book at hand.

“Rape can work like a dope for depraved young people wishing to exert their manhood, that too in a way approved by Islam,” asserts Shamsur Ali to Kubha, the hostage picked up by the terrorists from JNU, showing the levels of perversion to which a sick mind can stoop.

Kubha, however, wonders at the irony that the place where she is raped again and again is called the “Eight Heavens” by her abductors. Invoking the holy Battle of Badr led by the Prophet of Islam, the indoctrination of the terror recruits is done by reference to Islamic history.

Proving beyond doubt that his terror mastermind is no humble follower of any religion, the author’s “iconic Bangladeshi professor of death and destruction” does not hide his hatred for other religions as well.

“Jesus had spent a good amount of his growing years in Kashmir studying Buddhism. Many of the teachings of Jesus had surreptitious similarities with that of the Buddhism. If we want to eliminate all traces of Hinduism and Buddhism from the earth, we can’t spare Christianity.”

Gory, frightening and lunatic, the terror protagonist of the author will make you tremble at the sheer thought of waging a brutal war against the world in the name of fighting for peace.

It is precisely because of this realisation that an army general in Mardan tells Parush, the Aryabhata Clan’s superhero against terrorism: “Not the time for beach volley between the RAW and the ISI. You can give a press release blaming the murder on RAW and we can blame the ISI. But, do you realise that someone is fooling both the RAW and the ISI?”

The author takes the reader on a roller coaster ride to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and to the motifs of Khushawari rugs. Finally, Shamsur Ali is hunted down by Parush and Rahul, the terror fighters of the Aryabhata Clan.

As to where and how the final battle between peace and terror would be fought, the author has few answers. Sadly perhaps, the words of Kubha sum up the spirit of the narrative: “There would be more Kubhas like me. There would be many more Aryabhata Clans like ours. We will not allow any apocalypse to happen anywhere in the world, in life and in death.”

Sudipto Das has done well to portray the design that emerges as terrorists plot to strike innocent people in the world. A word of caution must be added to the oft-repeated reference to Islam and its history by the terror pushers in “Aryabhata Clan”.

Islam has as little to do with terrorism as any other religion we follow. In fact, the narrative proves that the first victim of the terrorists’ plan is the religion they claim to follow.