Section 377 was decriminalized on September 6, 2018, and India became a more equal country. The five-judge panel which included Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju struck down the colonial era-sodomy laws in section 377 of IPC.
The two advocates who represented the five original petitioners in the court and had fought the case have come out after almost a year and revealed to the International media that they are a couple.
When they are asked about the case is personal to them as they were two not just partners in court but a couple, to which they both agreed
“That’s right. The loss in 2013 was a loss as lawyers, a loss as citizens. It was a personal loss,” said Guruswamy.
“We had a court where we practiced as lawyers … and this court had just told us that gay people were second class citizens”, said Katju, who added that it was very difficult.
“For queer folk in all post-colonial countries, the governments have to understand that these (anti-sodomy) were not our laws,” Guruswamy said.
The duo was even named by TIME magazine in their list of 100 most influential people of 2019.