Kerala, Uttar Pradesh top list of states with Section 377 cases: NCRB data

NEW DELHI: Kerala and Uttar Pradesh top the list of states where cases of gay sex were registered. The crimes were registered under Section 377, the provision which was struck down by the Supreme Court last week. Between 2014 and 2016, a total of 4690 cases were registered under Section 377.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), as many as 2,195 gay sex cases were registered under Section 377 in 2016, 1,347 in 2015 and 1,148 cases in 2014. Uttar Pradesh topped the list in 2016, with 999 such cases, followed by Kerala in 2017.

In Delhi, 183 cases were registered under Section 377 and in Maharashtra 170 such cases were registered.

According to the NCRB data, in 2015, the highest number of cases under Section 377 were registered in Uttar Pradesh at 239.

In 2015, Kerala and Maharashtra registered 159 gay sex cases each, Haryana saw 111 cases and Punjab registered 81 such cases.

However, among the 1,347 cases registered in the country in 2015, in 814 cases, the victims were children.

Among these 814 cases, 179 were in Uttar Pradesh, 142 in Kerala, 116 in Maharashtra and 63 in Haryana. According to Home Ministry officials, those accused of consensual gay sex and facing trial or whose petitions are under review can breathe easy now as the Supreme Court’s September 6 verdict gives them a ray of hope.

The five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, had unanimously held that the members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community possess the same constitutional rights as other citizens of the country.

A RAY OF HOPE

The declaration of the aforesaid reading down of  Section 377 shall not, however, lead to the reopening of any concluded prosecutions, but can certainly be relied upon in all pending matters, whether they are at the trial, appellate, or revisional stages,” the SC order said.