Sex, Law and Budding Voices

Updated on: Friday, November 27, 2009

Kolkata: The National University of Juridical Sciences launched its special seventh quarterly issue of the NUJS Law Review on November 25, which dealt with the burning issue of Sexual Orientation and the Law.

M P Singh, vice chancellor, NUJS, whose introductory article was the only one not in favour of Section 377 being repealed, said, “I am sure that the editors contemplated on omitting my article altogether. Having said that, I felt that repealing of the law wasn’t necessary. It could simply be modified to exclude certain kinds of behaviour from the Article. I have to say that India has more important issues, which the media has happily chosen to neglect.”

As a reply to the statement, Pritam Baruah, assistant professor, NUJS, said, “One mustn’t judge issues to be relevant or irrelevant on the basis of their reach. After all, the importance of an issue is only sensed by those inflicted by adverse effects. The reasoning of the court is strong and it is unjust to shoot blanket criticism. The failure, however, has been that of the media in highlighting certain issues and ignoring others.”

Having written an article on Logic and Coherence in Naz Foundation, with arguments of non-discrimination, privacy and dignity, Baruah said, “There is no scientific evidence for homosexuality to be ‘unnatural’. Firstly, it has existed for ages and is even prevalent in other species. Just because a certain philosophy considers it a vice isn’t good enough a reason. However, at this juncture, social reality is far from what the law paints. There is long road of struggle ahead.”

This edition of the review deals with myriad issues related to the ‘Indeterminacy’ of Section 377, the Implication Of The Judgement For Transgender Community, Territorial Application Of High Court Decisions and the Role Of Tolerance In De-Radicalising The Rights Claims Of Sexual Subalterns.

The editorial board, a motley bunch of bright youngsters from various academic levels at NUJS, said, “Practically speaking, it is impossible to be devoid of sentiment when looking at issues. We were obviously passionate about the July 2 decision which was another step on the road to equality. Every individual has a right to make an unfettered choice.”

However, speaking of the reach of the Law Review, the ostensibly elite, anglicised, urban group of legal eagles said, “We aren’t catering simply to the urban youth. Our motive is to create a connective. We aren’t here to speak for someone, rather, to provide a platform for voices.”

Signing off, the editorial board said, “We have had a tremendous response for this issue. In fact we will come out with a supplementary issue that will include choicest of the inputs we received.

Sex, Law and Budding Voices

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