Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily stressed that law should not become an instrument of exploitation by authorities and expressed apprehension that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that was misused earlier against homosexuals can be misused in the future as well.
"If it has been misused earlier, it can be misused in future as well. Any law should not be used as an instrument of exploitation, harassment or allow the authority to misuse it. This is one such provision that has a tendency of misuse and exploitation, and has been misused,” Moily told Karan Thapar during CNN-IBN's programme Devil's Advocate .
Admitting that the anti-gay law has been misused, Moily was all praise for the Delhi High Court which came out with a “well researched, well documented, well argued’’ judgement decrimalising homosexuality.
“I must tell the judges...the subject may be difficult, but at the same time this is one judgement, which has really stood out in the judicial annals of this country,” he said.
To a pointed query, Moily said it would have been “preposterous’’ for the government to seek a stay on the Delhi High Court judgment decriminalising homosexuality as it was an important question of law relating to constitutional rights of liberty and privacy.
{{/usCountry}}To a pointed query, Moily said it would have been “preposterous’’ for the government to seek a stay on the Delhi High Court judgment decriminalising homosexuality as it was an important question of law relating to constitutional rights of liberty and privacy.
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