Gay seaman in India won’t be charged for having ‘unnatural’ sex in cheating case

VANCOUVER DESI

A merchant ship is seen just off the coast in Chennai, Indi in this Dec. 30, 2011 file photo. In Mumbai, it was ruled a gay merchant sailor would not have charges of engaging in ‘unnatural’ sex brought against him after he had an extra-marital affair with another man. STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images

A gay merchant navy sailor has won a legal reprieve, after Bombay’s High Court ruled against charging him for indulging in “unnatural” sex with another man, says an article by the Hindustan Times.

The seaman appealed to the court in an attempt to dismiss a sessions court case lodged against him in 2009 by a woman who claimed he had “unnatural” sex with her husband, an offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The wife also cited cruelty and cheating in the case.

The sailor’s lawyers, Kranti LC and Wesley Menezes, argued that the Delhi High Court had decriminalized consensual sexual acts of adults in private. The sessions court, however, did not accept this argument and noted that the ruling has been challenged in the Supreme Court and the judgment is pending.

However, on Wednesday in Mumbai Justice RV More stayed the charge under Section 377 and expedited the trial against the two men.

Tags: Affair, gay, sailor, sex