<P> The 11 December 2013 judgement of the Supreme Court, upholding Section 377 was met with support from religious leaders . The Daily News and Analysis called it "the univocal unity of religious leaders in expressing their homophobic attitude . Usually divisive and almost always seen tearing down each other's religious beliefs, leaders across sections came forward in decrying homosexuality and expressing their solidarity with the judgement ." The Daily News and Analysis article added that Baba Ramdev, India's well - known yoga guru, after praying that journalists not "turn homosexual", stated he could "cure" homosexuality through yoga and called it "a bad addiction". The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's vice-president Om Prakash Singhal said, "This is a right decision, we welcome it . Homosexuality is against Indian culture, against nature and against science . We are regressing, going back to when we were almost like animals . The SC had protected our culture ." The article states that Singhal further went to dismiss HIV / AIDS concerns within the LGBT community as, "It is understood that when you try to suppress one anomaly, there will be a break - out of a few more ." (Traditionally, Indian culture, or at least Hinduism, has been more ambivalent about homosexuality than Singhal suggests .) Maulana Madni of the Jamiat Ulema echoes this in the article, stating that "Homosexuality is a crime according to scriptures and is unnatural . People cannot consider themselves to be exclusive of a society...In a society, a family is made up of a man and a woman, not a woman and a woman, or a man and a man ." Rabbi Ezekiel Issac Malekar, honorary secretary of the Judah Hyam Synagogue, in upholding the judgment was also quoted as saying "In Judaism, our scriptures do not permit homosexuality ." Reverend Paul Swarup of the Cathedral Church of the Redemption in Delhi in stating his views on what he believes to be the unnaturalness of homosexuality, stated "Spiritually, human sexual relations are identified as those shared by a man and a woman . The Supreme Court's view is an endorsement of our scriptures ." </P> <P> The Ministry of Home Affairs released figures indicating that nearly 600 people had been arrested under Section 377 in 2014, which was linked to an increase in the blackmail of LGBT people . According to the NCRB, in 2015, 1,491 people were arrested under Section 377, including 207 minors (14%) and 16 women . Human Rights Watch argues that the law has been used to harass HIV / AIDS prevention efforts, as well as sex workers, homosexuals, and other groups at risk of the disease, even though those found guilty of extortion in relation to accusations that relate to Section 377 may face a life sentence under a special provision of Section 389 of the IPC . The People's Union for Civil Liberties has published two reports of the rights violations faced by sexual minorities and, in particular, transsexuals in India . </P> <P> In 2006 it came under criticism from 100 Indian literary figures, most prominently Vikram Seth . The law subsequently came in for criticism from several ministers, most prominently Anbumani Ramadoss and Oscar Fernandes . In 2008, a judge of the Bombay High Court also called for the scrapping of the law . </P> <P> The United Nations said that the ban violates international law . United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay stated that "Criminalising private, consensual same - sex sexual conduct violates the rights to privacy and to non-discrimination enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which India has ratified", and that the decision "represents a significant step backwards for India and a blow for human rights .", voicing hope that the Court might exercise its review procedure . </P>

Section 377 of the indian penal code (ipc)