India Supreme Court refers decision on challenge to homosexuality ban to Chief Justice News
India Supreme Court refers decision on challenge to homosexuality ban to Chief Justice

Two justices of the Supreme Court of India [official website] on Wednesday declined to rule on a petition challenging the constitutionality of the country’s law prohibiting sex between consenting adults of the same sex. The petitioners, several prominent LGBT celebrities, had argued that their lives had been inexorably constricted and their rights infringed [Times of India report] by Section 377 [advocacy materials] of the Indian Penal Code, which provides for punishment including life imprisonment for “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal.” Justices Sharad Bobde and Ashok Bhushan deferred judgment on the petition and referred the case to Chief Justice T.S. Thakur [official profiles] to determine whether a five member panel should consider the petition. Thakur is currently considering [JURIST report] a similar petition against Section 377 filed by the Naz Foundation [advocacy website], who successfully challenged Section 377 in the landmark 2009 case Naz Foundation v. Government of Dehli [text, PDF] at the Delhi High Court [official website]. The High Court’s decision was reversed [JURIST report] and Section 377’s constitutionality upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2013.

The lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community (LGBT) continues to face legal challenges throughout the world. Last December voters in Slovenia rejected a law [JURIST report] that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. In November the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled [JURIST report] that same-sex couples can legally adopt children. The UN has become increasingly focused on the rights of LGBT individuals. In September 2015, 12 UN agencies released a joint statement [JURIST report] arguing that abuses toward the LGBT population are human rights abuses impacting society as a whole. In June 2015, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported [JURIST report] that members of the LGBT community continue to face discrimination and human rights abuses.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.