BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Gay sex decriminalised in India
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A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has ruled that homosexual intercourse between consenting adults is not a criminal act.
The ruling overturns a 148-year-old colonial law which describes a same-sex relationship as an "unnatural offence".
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Gay rights activists all over the country welcomed the ruling and said it was "India's Stonewall".
New York's Stonewall riot in 1969 is credited with launching the gay rights movement.
"It [the ruling] is India's Stonewall. We are elated. I think what now happens is that a lot of our fundamental rights and civic rights which were denied to us can now be reclaimed by us," activist and lawyer Aditya Bandopadhyay told the BBC.
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This is a landmark ruling for human rights groups in India.
Unfortunately, this ruling is likely to be challenged by those opposed to the gay movement rights.