AP Photo

The Delhi high court's decriminalisation of homosexuality is the first step towards equal rights for gay Indians

A protracted legal battle has finally come to an end. In a landmark ruling, the Delhi high court scrapped parts of Section 377, a colonial law that criminalised gay sex "“ and indeed anything other than heterosexual vaginal intercourse "“ in India. Hence, consensual sex involving two adults of the same sex can no longer be a criminal offence.

The importance of this verdict cannot be understated. This is the first time that an Indian court has gone on record to say that sexual minorities are not second-class citizens, and that they cannot be discriminated against. Granted, the anti-gay law was seldom...