NEW DELHI: Thanks to the right to privacy being deemed a fundamental right,the Supreme Court link> (SClink>) today agreed to reconsider its 2013decision link>whichcriminalised gay sexual relations and said it will review Section 377link> of Indian Penal Code thatmakes such relations a crime, Times of India has reported.

The SC today also issued a notice to the Centre seeking its response to awrit petition filed by five members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual,transgender and queer (LGBTQ link>)community, who said they live in fear of police because of their naturalsexual orientation and preferences.The apex court also referred to a Constitution bench the petition seekingto decriminalise consensual sex between LGBTQ adults.

In December 2013, the SC set aside the Delhi High Court’s 2009 verdictdecriminalising homosexuality.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A MKhanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said the SC’ s December 2013 judgmentupholding the validity of Section 377 – which says sexual intercoursebetween consenting adults of the same gender is a crime – appears to hurtthe sexual preferences of individuals.

The three-judge bench took into account views expressed in another judgmentin August, which gave the right to privacy the status of a fundamentalright. That judgment was also in favour of respecting the freedom ofindividuals to their sexual orientation.