LGBTQ+ rights in India, explained plainly (2026)

Most of what people in India believe about queer rights is a few years out of date, in one direction or the other. This is the current position, in plain language, with the case names so you can check.

Being gay, lesbian or bisexual is legal

On 6 September 2018 the Supreme Court decided Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India. It read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code so that it no longer applied to consensual sex between adults, whatever their gender. The judgment was unanimous, five judges to none.

Since 1 July 2024 the Indian Penal Code has been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The new code contains no equivalent of Section 377 at all. There is, today, no criminal law in India against consensual same-sex relations between adults. If anyone, including a police officer, tells you there is, they are wrong.

Transgender people have a legal right to their gender

In NALSA v. Union of India (15 April 2014) the Supreme Court recognised transgender persons as a third gender and held that people have the right to self-identify their gender. It directed governments to treat transgender people as a socially and educationally backward class for reservations, and to provide healthcare and social welfare.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 followed. It prohibits discrimination in education, employment, healthcare and housing, and creates a certificate of identity issued by the District Magistrate. The Act is criticised by the community, with reason: it requires a certificate at all, and its penalties for offences against transgender people are lower than for the same offences against others. But it is law, and the anti-discrimination provisions can be used.

Marriage: not yet

On 17 October 2023, in Supriyo v. Union of India, the Supreme Court declined to legalise same-sex marriage. All five judges agreed the question was for Parliament. The court did not say the Constitution forbids it; it said the court would not be the one to do it.

What that means in practice: a same-sex couple cannot marry under the Special Marriage Act or any personal law. A marriage performed abroad is not recognised. There is no civil union. Some rights that marriage carries can be partly replicated by other instruments: a will, a power of attorney, a nomination on a bank account or insurance policy, a registered live-in agreement. A lawyer who knows the field can set these up.

Adoption

A single person of any orientation can adopt under the Juvenile Justice Act and CARA regulations. A same-sex couple cannot adopt jointly, because joint adoption is tied to marriage. One partner adopts as an individual.

At work

There is no national law that names sexual orientation as a protected ground in private employment. The Transgender Persons Act does protect gender identity. Many large employers have their own policies that go further than the law, and those policies are enforceable as terms of employment. If you are dismissed or harassed for being queer and your employer has a written diversity policy, that policy is your first lever.

Police

You cannot be arrested for being queer, for being on a dating app, or for meeting someone from one. If you are threatened with arrest under "377", the section no longer exists. You are entitled to know the grounds of any arrest, to a lawyer, and to have a person of your choice informed. If a police officer demands money to "not register a case" about your orientation, that is extortion, and the relevant offences are in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, not against you.

What is still missing

• Marriage and everything tied to it: joint adoption, spousal pension, hospital next-of-kin by default.
• A national anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation.
• A ban on so-called conversion therapy. The National Medical Commission has declared it professional misconduct for doctors, which is something, but it is not a law.
• Reform of the 2019 Act's certificate process.

If you need a lawyer

Several organisations run free or low-cost legal aid for queer and trans people. The helpline directory lists them by city. For a police matter, contact one of them before you contact anyone else, and keep every message.