Day 17 - My Son is Gay

My name is Leila,

Leila Seth. 

I am 83 years old. 

I have been in a long 

and happy marriage 

of more than sixty years 

with my husband Premo, 

and am the mother 

of three children. 

The eldest, Vikram, 

is a writer. 

The second, Shantum, 

is a Buddhist teacher. 

The third, Aradhana , 

is an artist and film-maker. 

I love them all. 

My husband and I 

have brought them up

 with the values 

we were brought up with 

- honesty, courage 

and sympathy for others. 

We know 

they are hardworking 

and affectionate people, 

who are trying to do 

some good in the world.

But our eldest, Vikram, 

is now a criminal , 

an unapprehended felon. 

This is because , 

like many millions 

of other Indians, 

he is gay; 

and last month, 

two Supreme Court judges 

overturned the judgment 

of two Delhi high court judges

that, four years ago,

decriminalized 

homosexuality . 

Now, once again, 

if Vikram falls in love 

with another man, 

he will be committing 

a crime punishable 

by imprisonment for life 

if he expresses 

his love physically. 

Dear Supreme Court,

Your judgement mean

that he would have to be 

a celibate 

for the rest of his life 

- or else leave the country 

where he was born, 

to which he belongs, 

and which he loves 

more than any other?

I myself have been a judge 

for more than fourteen years 

And I have great respect 

for legal proprieties 

in general, and would not 

normally comment 

on a judgment, 

but I am making 

an exception in this case.

I read the judgment 

of the Delhi High Court 

when it came out 

four years ago. 

It was a model of learning, 

humanity and application 

of Indian Constitutional principles.

It was well crafted, 

and its reasoning 

clearly set out. 

It decided that Section 377 

of the Indian Penal Code 

infringed Article 14 

of the very Constitution, 

which deals with 

the fundamental right 

to equality of it's citizens. 

It infringed Article 15, 

which deals with 

the fundamental right 

to non-discrimination. 

And it infringed Article 21, 

which covers 

the fundamental right 

to life and liberty, 

including privacy and dignity. 

The judgment 

of the High Court 

'read down' Section 377 

in order to decriminalize 

private, adult, and 

consensual sexual acts.

The government 

found no fault 

with the judgment 

and did not appeal. 

However, a number of people 

who had no real standing 

in the matter did challenge it. 

Two judges of the Supreme Court 

heard the appeal in early 2012. 

Then, 21 months later, 

and on the very morning 

of the retirement of one of them, 

the judgment was finally pronounced. 

The Delhi High Court judgment 

was set aside, 

Section 377 

was reinstated in full, 

and even private, adult, 

consensual sexual acts 

other than the one 

considered 'natural' 

were criminalized again.

As the mother 

of my elder son, 

I was extremely upset. 

But as a lawyer 

and a former judge, 

I decided to reserve 

my views till I had read 

the judgment. 

When I read it, 

it would be true 

to say that I found 

difficult to follow its logic.

A host of academics 

and lawyers have critiqued 

the judgment in great detail, 

including the non-addressal 

of the Article 15 argument, 

and have found it 

wanting in many respects. 

I do not intend to 

repeat those criticisms. 

However, I should point out 

that both learning and science 

get rather short shrift. 

Instead of welcoming 

cogent arguments 

from jurisprudence 

outside India, 

which is accepted practice 

in cases of fundamental rights, 

the judgment specifically 

dismisses them as being 

irrelevant. Really?

Further, rather than following 

medical, biological and 

psychological evidence, 

which show that homosexuality 

is a completely natural condition, 

part of a range not only 

of human sexuality 

but of the sexuality 

of almost every animal species, 

the judgment continues 

to talk in terms of 'unnatural' acts, 

even as it says 

that it would be difficult 

to list them!

But what has pained me 

and is more harmful 

is the spirit of the judgment. 

The interpretation of law 

is untempered by any sympathy 

for the suffering of others.

The voluminous accounts 

of rape, torture, extortion 

and harassment 

suffered by gay 

and transgender people 

as a result of this law 

do not appear 

to have moved the court. 

Nor does the court appear 

concerned about the parents 

of such people, 

who stated before the court 

that the law induced 

in their children 

deep fear, profound self-doubt 

and the inability 

to peacefully enjoy family life. 

I know this to be true 

from personal experience. 

The judgment fails 

to appreciate 

the stigma 

that is attached 

to persons 

and families 

because of this 

criminalization.

And reason

for being a criminal,

is that my son loves?

- Based on Leila Seth's article, A mother and a judge speaks out. She died a week ago and has left behind a legacy of solid allyship and motherly care for Indian Judicial System and society to reconsider it's moral standing.

Image Source: http://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/you-can-talk-good-ideas-out-of-existence/229026

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