India has had a long history of oppression when it comes to legally dealing with homosexuality. Parts of their current constitution are still from the country’s colonial era, with some of the laws dating back as far as 150 years. Section 377, a law which specifically outlawed all homosexual acts, was drafted by British rulers in 1860 and has been enforced up until it was overturned today. The official court decision, written by Chief Justice A.P. Shah of the Delhi High Court, reads:

“We declare that section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, in so far as it criminalizes consensual acts of others in private, runs counter to basic human rights guaranteed by articles of the Indian constitution.”

The decision just so happens to fall on a weekend in which thousands held marches in cities all around India, the largest of which being in the capitol of New Delhi, to celebrate the second Gay Pride march the country has ever had.

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