Indian Supreme Court Rules Law Criminalizing Homosexuality Still Valid

Colonial-era anti-gay law

India's Supreme Court overturned a historic lower court decision on homosexuality Wednesday, making consensual same-sex acts once again a crime in the world's most populous democracy.

The court ruled that India's Colonial-era homosexuality law — which says that gay sex is "against the order of nature" and punishable by up to 10 years in prison — is constitutional. Changing it should be left up to the country's Parliament, not the courts, the judges ruled.