Homosexuality legalised in India
Thursday July 02 2009
A court in New Delhi has overturned a 148-year-old law criminalising the act of gay sex.
The groundbreaking ruling allows gay sex between two consenting adults.
Sex between people of the same gender can be punishable by up to 10 years in prison there.
In 2004 the Indian Government overturned a petition that sought to legalise homosexuality but rights groups and the country's HIV/AIDS control body have lobbied for this new law change.
The National AIDS Control Organisation has said that criminalisation was forcing people underground and hampering efforts to battle the virus.
