New Delhi: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev will approach the Supreme Court on Wednesday challenging the Delhi High Court judgement legalising gay sex among the consenting adults.
The petition is likely to be filed on Wednesday, July 8, lawyers associated with Ramdev said.
Lawyers Suresh Sharma and Gandharva Makker said the petition assailing the High Court verdict was to be filed on Tuesday but was delayed due to "unavoidable circumstances".
They said the yoga guru has challenged the July 2 judgement contending that homosexual activities are not only against public morality, public health and healthy environment but also against the interest of the society.
"...homosexual activities which are otherwise unnatural there is high risk of exposure of a large chunk of population to dangerous sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS," the petition, likely to be filed, said.
"The decision of the High Court, if allowed to sustain will have catastrophic effects on the moral fabric of society and will jeopardise the institution of marriage itself. This offends the structure of Indian value system, Indian culture and traditions, as derived from religious scriptures," it said.
Ramdev, quoting Spanish psychiatrist Enrique Rojas, contended that homosexuality is a disease that is curable.
"It can be treated like any other congenital defect. Such tendencies can be treated by yoga, pranayam and other meditation techniques," he said in the petition.
The High Court, in a landmark verdict, legalised gay sex among consenting adults, which was earlier an offence under Section 377 of Indian Penal Code with punishment up to life imprisonment.
The verdict had retained the penal provision for non consenting gay and homosexual acts involving minors.
Ramdev, in his petition, contended that legislative mandate under section 377 of IPC did not infringe the right to privacy of persons indulging in homosexual activities as held by the High Court.
He maintained that section 377 is not in violation of right to dignity of an individual and reduction in purview in the penal provision would aid in promoting homosexual activities which are primarily responsible for spread of HIV.
Ramdev said in the petition that the High Court has erred by adjudicating Section 377 to be in violation of fundamental rights
"The High Court has erred in its ruling by interpreting the terminology sex as sexual orientation. In fact, the term sex referred under Article 15 is in relation to the male or the female sex. It can't be interpreted in context to the sexual orientation of a person," the petition said.
He alleged the verdict would promote homosexual activities which would adversely affect population growth in the country.
"Homosexual relationships, if encouraged, would bring population growth of a country to a halt and may deprive this country of its greatest asset of human resources," he said.