NEW DELHI — It is one of the world’s oldest laws criminalizing consensual gay sex, and after weeks of deliberation, India’s top court is set to decide whether it should go the way of colonial rule.

The five Supreme Court judges who heard the case have been asked to strike down the law; a ruling is expected on Thursday.

India has been much slower than some other countries to allow gay people to live full and open lives, and in arguments before the court in July, lawyers for the petitioners challenging the law tried to make clear the broader issue.

“My lords, this is love that must be constitutionally recognized, and not just sexual acts,” one lawyer, Menaka Guruswamy, told the judges.