Soon after the Supreme Court refused to review its verdict on Section 377, actor and gay rights activist Celina Jaitly, currently stationed in Singapore with her husband and twin children, expressed shock at the verdict.
“The honourable court has rejected the petition as it found no merit in it... No merit in it? Millions of lives are at stake and the court finds no merit in the petition?” asked Celina.
She also said people shouldn’t be made guilty of what they are because nature has made them that way. “People with gay tendencies cannot be held guilty for going against the order of Nature. Who decides what the order of Nature is? To me child marriages and marital rapes are unnatural,” she added.
The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, dismissed a plea filed by the central government and some NGOs seeking a review of its December 11, 2013 verdict that declares gay sex an offence.
However, Celina is still hopeful of getting support form other government bodies on the issue.
“I hope Parliament will address the issue and all the political parties, regardless of their political and religious affiliations, will come together to uphold the constitutional guarantee of life and liberty to all citizens of India. And that includes those affected directly by Tuesday’s judgment,” she opines.
{{/usCountry}}“I hope Parliament will address the issue and all the political parties, regardless of their political and religious affiliations, will come together to uphold the constitutional guarantee of life and liberty to all citizens of India. And that includes those affected directly by Tuesday’s judgment,” she opines.
{{/usCountry}}The No Entry film actor also said that her heart reaches out to the gay community in India.
“Thousands from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community came out in the open to protest when their sexual identity was challenged during the past four years. And that too after the Delhi High Court had decriminalized gay sex,’ she said.
She’s disheartened that people can’t choose their partners. “Now the gay community is back to Square One. They face the threat of being prosecuted for choosing the partners that they want. I can’t think of a greater injustice,” she said.