Homosexuality decriminalized in Sri Lanka, SC gives verdict after hearing over a dozen petitions
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A major decision has been taken in India’s neighboring country Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has approved a bill seeking to decriminalize homosexuality.
India’s Supreme Court continued to hear arguments on same-sex marriage on Tuesday. A five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul, SR Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha is hearing the matter. At the same time, a big decision has been taken in India’s neighboring country Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has approved a bill seeking to decriminalize homosexuality.
The Speaker of Parliament on Tuesday hailed the move as a “historic development”. LGBTQ rights activists in Sri Lanka have been campaigning for years to change the law in a country where homosexuality is still punishable by prison terms and fines. Due to which a private member’s bill was introduced in the Parliament last month.
Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene said the Supreme Court, after hearing more than a dozen petitions on both sides of the argument, ruled that it was not unconstitutional. The Speaker told Parliament that the Supreme Court is of the opinion that the Bill as a whole or any of its provisions is not inconsistent with the Constitution. The decision has been hailed as a “landmark development that has generated hope towards real change,” said the attorney-at-law and advocacy officer of iProbono in Sri Lanka, which spearheaded several petitions supporting the bill.
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