India’s Supreme Court has upheld a colonial-era law criminalising gay sex (Picture: AFP / Getty)

India’s highest court has upheld a colonial-era law which criminalises gay sex, in what activists have described as a ‘black day’ for gay rights.

The supreme court threw out a 2009 New Delhi high court decision that ruled the law was unconstitutional.

It was a huge setback for gay activists who have argued for years for the chance to live openly in India’s deeply conservative society.

The law change could see homosexuals jailed for up to ten years.


Participants walk during a gay parade to mark in Ahmadabad, India (Picture: AP)

‘Such a decision was totally unexpected from the top court. It is a black day,’ said Arvind Narrain, a lawyer for the Alternative Law Forum gay rights group.



‘We are very angry about this regressive decision of the court.’

Ashok Row Kavi, of the activist group Humsafar Trust, said: ‘This is a very sad day for us, we are back to square one in our fight for the democratic rights of the gay community.’

Over the last decade, homosexuals have slowly gained a degree of acceptance in some parts of India, especially its big cities.

But being gay remains deeply taboo in most of the country, and many gays and lesbians hide their sexual orientation from friends and relatives.