The colonial legal ghost still haunting modern penal codes

Health · Published 19 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1860, the British Empire codified Section 377 to criminalize 'unnatural' sexual acts. While many nations have moved on, the legal architecture of this colonial-era provision continues to shape privacy, human rights, and criminal justice across several continents today.

Originally introduced in the Indian Penal Code in 1860, Section 377 was designed to criminalize 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature.' According to historian Alok Gupta, the British intended this code to ensure colonial subjects conformed to colonial authority and to prevent what they termed 'corruption' among Christian subjects. The law was not limited to India; it was exported across the Empire, providing the legal model for 'buggery' in England's 1861 Offences Against the Person Act and influencing laws like Singapore's Section 377A, which was only repealed on 3 January 2023.

The legal battle to dismantle the law in India was a decades-long saga. While the Delhi High Court decriminalized gay sex in 2009, the Supreme Court of India overturned this in the 2013 Suresh Kumar Koushal vs. Naz Foundation case, leaving the law in place. A unanimous verdict in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India was delivered by the Court on 6 September 2018. This ruling declared Section 377 invalid for consensual sexual acts between adults, referencing the privacy rights affirmed in the 2017 Puttaswamy decision.

Despite the 2018 victory, the law's legacy remains complex. The 2018 ruling did not strike down the entire section; it remains in force for non-consensual acts, sex with minors, and bestiality. Additionally, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) superseded the Indian Penal Code starting 1 July 2024. The historical impact of the law was profound; for instance, 2015 data from the NCRB showed 1,491 arrests under Section 377, including 207 minors and 16 women.

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