The ruling party in India is critical of the Supreme Court for reinstating a ban on gay sex, taking an unexpectedly bold stance ahead of elections next year.
The court on Wednesday overturned a 2009 ruling by the High Court in Delhi, which had lifted a ban on gay sex between consenting adults that dated back to the nineteenth century. The Supreme Court said only parliament could change the penal code.
The ruling triggered protests in cities across India on Wednesday as fear spread that the gay community was effectively being outlawed.
"The High Court had wisely removed an archaic, repressive and unjust law that infringed on the basic human rights enshrined in our Constitution," said Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi in a rare public statement.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Law Minister Kapil Sibal also voiced dismay.
"To say in this day and age that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights should not be recognised is extremely regressive and extremely disappointing," Chidambaram said.
Gay rights activists had not expected the government to enter the issue, as it faces general elections within the next six months and the opposition is leading in many opinion polls.
"We are very, very happy and we are pleasantly surprised," said Arvind Narrain, one of the lawyers representing a consortium that defended the 2009 judgment at the Supreme Court.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party ducked mounting pressure to make its stance known.
"This is not a political issue. It is a social issue," said BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi.
India's parliament could now vote to change or remove section 377 of the penal code, which prohibits "carnal intercourse against the order of nature", a phrase widely interpreted to refer to homosexual sex. Violation of the law can be punished with up to 10 years in jail.
Mrs Gandhi urged parliament to take up the matter in her statement. Chidambaram suggested the government should instead file a "curative petition", a kind of appeal under which the case is reviewed by a five-judge panel.
