Petition challenging same-sex relationships gets rejected by Supreme Court – can’t be considered a crime

The Supreme Court has refused to consider a public interest litigation challenging the provision in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that does not criminalize unnatural sexual offenses.

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider a public interest litigation challenging the provision in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that does not criminalize unnatural sexual offenses. The IPC had a provision for punishment under Section 377, but the Supreme Court struck it down in 2018 in the Navtej Singh Johar case. The bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Mishra said that the court cannot direct that a particular act be made a crime under the IPC, which is within the legislature’s domain. A representation can be made to the central government for this.

DD Sindhi channel launch petition rejected

On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected a petition seeking directions from the central government and Prasar Bharati to launch a 24-hour Sindhi language TV channel to protect the language and cultural heritage of the Sindhi community. The bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud rejected the petition filed by the Sindhi Sangat, saying that no citizen can claim as a fundamental right under Article 29 of the Constitution that the government should start a separate channel in their language.

Ailing and disabled may get bail under PMLA

On Monday, the Supreme Court said that despite stringent provisions for bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), ailing and disabled persons may be granted bail. The bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud made this observation while granting interim bail to an accused in a PMLA case. The bench considered the medical report of the petitioner before granting relief. Senior advocate Atmaram Nadkarni opposed the bail, saying the accused had tampered with evidence and other FIRs were also registered against him. The CJI said that despite PMLA being a stringent law, the law tells us that a person who is ailing and disabled should be granted bail.