On Sept. 6, India struck down a colonial-era law known as Section 377 that criminalised gay sex, in what has been considered as a landmark edict.

Section 377 had previously categorised gay sex as an "unnatural offence" that was punishable with up to 10 years in jail.

What India said

In announcing the repealing of Section 377, Indian Chief Justice Dipak Misra stated:

"Any consensual sexual relationship between two consenting adults -- homosexuals, heterosexuals or lesbians -- cannot be said to be unconstitutional."

Singapore leaders weigh in on the matter

Minister K Shanmugam

Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam has responded to the Indian supreme court's decision regarding the repealing of Section 377, noting that in the context of Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had previously set out the government's position on Section 377a in Parliament.

Shanmugam added that the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had also spoken about this issue and he felt that Lee was "sympathetic and expressed his understanding for those who were gay".

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Shanmugam also highlighted that Singaporeans were deeply split on the issue.

He noted that the majority "opposed to any change over Section 377A", with a "growing minority" who wants it to be repealed, adding that the government "was in the middle".

Moreover, while his personal stance was that one should be careful of criminalising people's lifestyles and sexual attitudes and treating them as criminals, Shanmugam also questioned if a personal viewpoint could be imposed on the society as a policy-maker.

Shanmugam further added that "society has got to decide which direction it wants to go and the laws will have to keep pace with the changes in society".

He concluded that while "the law is there, there will be no prosecutions for private conduct... We live and let live. If one side pushes, you'll expect a substantial push back. So we'll have to go with the way the society's viewpoint goes on this".

Tommy Koh

Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh also gave his view on the matter, which was carried by Channel NewsAsia.

Koh commented on the Facebook page of Simon Chesterman, Dean of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law, saying that he would encourage the local gay community to bring a class action to challenge the constitutionality of Section 377A.

In response to his comment, another member of the public brought up the case of Lim Meng Suang, which saw a failed constitutional challenge posed in 2014 against Section 377A.

To which Koh simply replied, "try again".

Janadas Devan

Koh's sentiments were also echoed by Janadas Devan, Chief of Government Communications and Director of Institute of Policy Studies.

He posted about the repeal in his personal capacity:

Janadas noted that 377A is a bad law and prayed that it will go "sooner rather than later".

Top photo by Jonathan Lim.