The Delhi High Court asks Centre whether unnatural sex is a crime in BNS

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre Government to clarify its stand on excluding penal provisions for the offences of unnatural sex and sodomy from the Indian Judicial Code (BNS), which recently replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Delhi court said the legislature needs to address the issue of unnatural sex without consent.

The bench said, "We cannot decide the quantum (of punishment), but unnatural sex that takes place without consent should be taken care of by the legislature." The court granted time to the Centre's counsel to obtain instructions on the issue and posted the matter for further hearing on August 28.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by a lawyer named Destini Gulati, who appeared in person, seeking removal of the "essential legal lacuna" created by the implementation of BNS. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code also had to be repealed due to the implementation of BNS. The lawyer said that the BNS does not include any provision equivalent to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, due to which every person, especially the 'LGBTQ' community, will be affected.

He also highlighted the alleged atrocities against people of the LGBTQ community. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code punishes unnatural sex between two adults without consent, sexual activities against minors and sex with animals. The BNS, which replaced the IPC, came into effect on July 1, 2024.