LGBTQ+ rights in India after Navtej Johar: what the law gives you

For over 150 years a colonial law treated love between adults of the same sex as a crime. Many lived in fear of police, blackmailers and their own families. In 2018 the Supreme Court ended that. But decriminalisation is not full equality, and some questions remain open. This guide explains what changed, what you can rely on today, and what to do when you are threatened.

What Navtej Johar decided

Section 377 of the old Indian Penal Code punished "carnal intercourse against the order of nature". In Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India (2018) a five-judge bench held it unconstitutional to the extent it criminalised consensual sexual acts between adults in private. Sexual orientation, the Court said, is a natural part of identity; punishing it violates equality under Art 14, the bar on sex discrimination under Art 15, expression under Art 19(1)(a), and dignity and privacy under Art 21. The Court built on Puttaswamy (2017), which recognised privacy, including sexual orientation, as a fundamental right.

When the BNS replaced the Penal Code on 1 July 2024, it carried no equivalent of Section 377. Consensual relations between adults are simply not an offence.

What you can rely on today

• Freedom from criminalisation. No police officer can register a case, detain or threaten you for a consensual adult relationship. If someone tries to extort money by threatening to "expose" you, that is extortion under the BNS, whatever your orientation.
• The right to choose your partner and live together. Choosing a partner is part of liberty under Art 21. High Courts across the country regularly order police protection for adult couples, including same-sex couples, facing threats from family. In Supriyo the Supreme Court also said police must not harass queer persons or force an adult to return to the natal family.
• Freedom from "conversion therapy". In S. Sushma v Commissioner of Police (2021) the Madras High Court issued wide directions to protect queer persons, and the National Medical Commission has since treated conversion therapy by doctors as professional misconduct. A doctor who offers it can be reported to the State Medical Council.
• Banking. On 28 August 2024 the Department of Financial Services advised that there is no restriction on queer persons opening a joint bank account or naming a partner as nominee; the RBI issued a matching clarification to banks.
• Transgender persons have additional statutory rights under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which was amended in 2026; as of October 2026 the amendment is under challenge in the Supreme Court (see our separate guide).

The marriage ruling and the gaps

In Supriyo Chakraborty v Union of India (2023) petitioners asked the Supreme Court to recognise same-sex marriage. All five judges held that there is no fundamental right to marry and that the Court could not read same-sex marriage into the Special Marriage Act, 1954; that is for Parliament. By 3:2 the Court also declined to recognise civil unions or a right of unmarried queer couples to adopt jointly. All judges agreed that queer persons must not face discrimination, and the Union told the Court it would set up a committee to look at practical problems of queer couples: ration cards, joint accounts, medical decisions, pensions and inheritance. That committee, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, was formed in 2024. Review petitions were dismissed in January 2025.

So, as of 2026:

• Same-sex couples cannot register a marriage, and cannot jointly adopt as a couple (a single person can adopt in their own right under the adoption regulations).
• There is no general anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation in private jobs, housing or services. A few employers and states have their own policies.
• The BNS has no specific offence of sexual assault on an adult man; other offences such as hurt, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation still apply.

Step by step: protecting yourself and your partner

1. Immediate danger: call 112. If a woman is being confined or forced into marriage, 181 can also help.
2. Threats from family or others: write down what was said, keep messages and recordings, and file an FIR for criminal intimidation, wrongful confinement or extortion as the facts fit. Take your free copy.
3. Protection petition: an adult couple can file a petition in the High Court asking for police protection. Legal aid lawyers and queer collectives do these regularly; carry age proof for both partners.
4. Online blackmail or outing: do not pay. Save screenshots with the sender's details, report at the cybercrime portal or call 1930, and file an FIR.
5. Plan your paperwork as a couple: a registered will, nominations on bank accounts, insurance and provident fund, a joint account, and a written medical authorisation naming your partner. A lawyer can draft these in a day.
6. Discrimination at work: use the company's grievance and anti-harassment policy in writing; if harassment is sexual, the Internal Committee under the sexual harassment law applies to women and many employers extend it to all.