Bollywood celebrities such as Karan Johar and Hansal Mehta welcomed the Supreme Court's judgement Thursday decriminalising consensual gay sex, calling it a historic victory for equal rights and a proud moment for the country.
A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, struck down Section 377 as being violative of right to equality.
Director Hansal Mehta, who made "Aligarh", a true-life inspired film about in Aligarh Muslim University professor Ramchandra Siras, who faced discrimination for being gay, called the verdict a "new beginning".
"A new beginning. The law is gone. The Supreme Court has done what parliament failed to do. Now it's time for attitudes to change. Let's rejoice but let us also reflect. This is a new beginning. #Sec377verdict," he tweeted.
Filmmaker Karan Johar also hailed the verdict.
"Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!," he wrote on Twitter.
Actor Arjun Kapoor said,"Sanity prevails for once we can believe we have some sensible decision makers and lawmakers available to this generation. #Section377 gone with the wind."
Actor Nimrat Kaur wrote on Twitter, "RIP #Section377. Happy birthday 2018 !! Equal love. Equal lives. Proud Indian today."