IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO.10972 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP (C) No.15436 of 2009) Suresh Kumar Koushal and another ... Appellants versus NAZ Foundation and others ... Respondents with CIVIL APPEAL NO.10974 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) No.37703 of 2013 @ CC NO.13105 of 2009) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10986 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) No.37708 of 2013 @ CC NO.14042 of 2009) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10981 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) No.37705 of 2013 @ CC NO.19478 of 2009) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10983 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) NO.20913 of 2009) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10984 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) NO.20914 of 2009) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10975 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) NO.22267 of 2009) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10973 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) NO.24334 of 2009) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10985 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) NO.25346 of 2009) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10976 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) NO.34187 of 2009) Page 2 CIVIL APPEAL NO.10980 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) NO.36216 of 2009) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10982 OF 2013 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.37706 of 2013 @ CC NO.425 of 2010) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10977 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) NO.286 of 2010) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10978 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) NO.872 of 2010) CIVIL APPEAL NO.10979 OF 2013 (Arising out of SLP(C) NO.873 of 2010) JUDGMENT G.S. SINGHVI, J. 1. Leave granted. 2. These appeals are directed against order dated 2.7.2009 by which the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court allowed the writ petition filed by NAZ Foundation – respondent No.1 herein, by way of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the constitutional validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) in the following terms: “We declare that Section 377 IPC, insofar it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private, is violative of Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution. The provisions of Section 377 IPC will continue to govern non-consensual penile non-vaginal sex and penile non- vaginal sex involving minors. By 'adult' we mean everyone who is 18 years of age and above. A person below 18 would be presumed not to be able to consent to a sexual act. This clarification will hold till, of course, Parliament chooses to amend the law to effectuate the 2