Indian Government has apparently opposed the move to decriminalize the gay sex. In a Supreme Court hearing, the Home Ministry said that , “Our moral and social values are different from other countries and we cannot be guided by them”.
The Delhi High Court has earlier (in 2009) ruled that homosexual sex among consenting adults is not a crime boosted an increasingly vocal pro-gay lobby in India but was criticised by conservative groups. The Supreme Court began hearing petitions filed against the 2009 ruling on Wednesday.
Homosexuals and lesbians face ostracism across much of India, and only in recent years have some come out, especially in cities. Gay rights activists argue the colonial-era law was an impediment in fighting against HIV/AIDS because many homosexuals refuse to come out in the open fearing harassment by authorities. In 2010, a professor was suspended from his university in Aligarh after having been secretly filmed having sex with another man. He was later found dead at his home in an apparent suicide.