'A day after finance minister Arun Jaitley and his Congress predecessor P Chidambaram claimed that the Supreme Court should reconsider its 2013 decision to criminalise gay sex, Delhi's queer community on Sunday showed up for the city's annual Pride March with strong views about their statements. Speaking at the Times LitFest in Delhi on November 28, Jaitley said that the court's view on homosexuality was not in sync with laws in many other parts of the world.
'In 2013, the Gujarat government denied an entertainment tax exemption to Meghdhanushya, KR Devmani’s Gujarati film on the gay community featuring Manvendra Singh Gohil, the openly gay prince of Rajpipla. The response to a Right to Information petition filed by Scroll.in has now confirmed that Meghdhanushya was the first and only film to be refused a tax exemption certificate on the grounds of its subject matter in the 16 years since Gujarat's entertainment tax policy came into effect.
'By Tuesday afternoon, the Economic Times had taken down a report, published in the June 30 edition of the paper, from the website. Headlined “Sec 377 may be scrapped, says Gowda” the report by Sowmya Aji quoted the law minister as sending positive signals to the LGBT community on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises homosexuality.
'The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is in the middle of a controversy yet again. After the recent cuss-word debate and more scene snips that were widely contested, chairman Pahlaj Nihalani’s decision to ban Unfreedom — a film based on a homosexual relationship —has been met with criticism. The board reportedly has issues with both the lesbian relationship shown in the film and the parallel story where a liberal Muslim girl is kidnapped by terrorists. “They told me that Hindus and Muslims will start fighting, and that the film will also ignite ‘unnatural passion’.
'India was among 43 countries that voted on Tuesday against benefits for same sex couples working for the UN by backing a Russian-drafted resolution. The foreign ministry today justified India's stand saying countries were "not consulted" on the plan. The resolution was defeated with 80 nations rejecting it and 37 countries abstaining, which means the UN can now extend benefits to partners of gay employees. The idea was proposed by UN Secy Gen Ban Ki Moon last July.
'Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit, newly appointed Censor Board member, has sparked controversy with his tweet on Karan Johar and "AIB Knockout". The "AIB Knockout" video, which went viral on Facebook and Twitter, features Karan as the 'Roastmaster', while the actors Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor were grilled by the host and panel of celebrities...
"The policy lists LGBT community among the stigmatised groups which need focused attention. Goa’s Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ramesh Tawadkar today said the government was planning to set up centres to administer treatment to the LGBT youths to make them “normal”. He was speaking to reporters after launching the state government’s youth policy. “We will make them (LGBT youth) normal. We will have a centre for them. Like Alcoholic Anonymous centres, we will have centres. We will train them and give them medicines too,” he said..."
"The UN Human Rights Council ( UNHRC) voted on Friday to pass a resolution supporting LGBT rights around the world, condemning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. India abstained from voting on the resolution. The Human Rights Council resolution—led by Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay—followed a resolution in 2011 on the same topic led by South Africa and asks the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to gather and publish information on how best to overcome discrimination and violence...
"Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday batted for “human rights” of gays and said it was the government’s job to protect their rights. “Everybody, including gays, has human rights. It is the job of the government to protect their rights,” he said on the sidelines of an event. He, however, declined to make further comments when asked to explain his position as his party, BJP, had supported the Supreme Court judgment which had upheld the validity of Section 377 of IPC, criminalising sex among homosexuals.
"Some of the petitioners who have filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court against its verdict on Section 377 have received a legal notice for having done so, asking why should ‘action not be taken for playing a fraud on the superior judiciary, the government and the people of the country for having filed a review and a curative petition’. The notice has been sent on behalf of Purushothaman Mulloli of Joint Action Council Kannur (JACK), which was one of the parties that had appealed in the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court order of 2009 reading down Section 377.
