india

Updated: Dec 12, 2013 14:29 IST

The US on Wednesday voiced concern about a ruling by the Supreme Court of India which reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex that could see same-sex lovers imprisoned.







The Hindu American Foundation, a small but increasingly influential supporter of Narendra Modi, became a surprising opponent of SC’s turnaround on gay sex.



It joined many pro-gay rights groups in the US and in India to condemn the apex court’s decision overturning a lower court’s order decriminalizing homosexuality.



"No law should interfere in a consensual relationship of two individuals behind closed doors," said the foundation’s director of public policy Harsh Voruganti."

"We had hoped that the Indian Supreme Court would have upheld the lower court's progressive decision."



The foundation supports BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, and successfully lobbied against a congressional resolution against him recently.



The state department also opposed the ruling, reluctantly expressing concern under persistent questioning.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, "We oppose any action that criminalises consensual same-sex conduct between adults in general around the world."



Asked what she specifically thought about the Indian Supreme Court decision, she said, "Any action that criminalises consensual same-sex conduct between adults that doesn’t recognise that fundamental freedoms of people include their right to sexual orientation – those are issues that we certainly would be concerned about, as we are here."

HT Edit: SC ruling a setback for LGBT community

HT Column: Bad in law? Question marks over SC ruling against gay sex

Read: A timeline of events and legality of homosexuality in India

Read: A timeline of LGBT rights throughout the world

Read:

Why Delhi high court decriminalised gay sex

In a Hindustantimes.com poll conducted on Wednesday, over 80% of the respondents answered in the negative, when asked whether they agree with the Supreme Court's order of criminalising homosexuality again. See poll results here.