On Tuesday, The Delhi High Court said that the problem of HIV cannot be solved by controlling Homosexuality or gay sex. The court also told the Centre to submit the specific proof to support its claim that homosexuality spreads the HIV virus. 

A division bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar told the Centre, “Please show material, research paper or any document even from another country to show that decriminalisation (of gay sex) would lead to spread of HIV.” 

The court said, “If your argument is correct then spread of HIV should have stopped in the country as the law has been there for many years. But it is not the case as many people are dying of the dreaded disease” court also added, “It's a strange situation. Your first affidavit (Home Ministry's) is silent. There is not a single word on what you are saying while other affidavit (Health Ministry's) is pointing out that the penal provision leads to marginalisation of HIV patients.” 

Court said that there should be a proper law to provide proper treatment and care to HIV patients like other countries. The court was hearing a PIL filed by gay right activists seeking court direction to amend section 377 of IPC (Indian Penal Code). At present the IPC holds a homosexual act as an offence and it provides a punishment of up to life imprisonment for indulging in such acts.

The activists had said, “Moral argument cannot triumph over the constitutional rights in a democratic society where fundamental rights prohibit any discrimination on the ground of sex.”