Meet petitioners who challenged Section 377

The apex court on Thursday said that LGBTQ community possesses the same fundamental rights as other citizens.

AFP PHOTO. File Image

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled gay sex among consenting adults is not a criminal offence. The historic judgement came on a batch of writ petitions. A five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and comprising Justices Fali Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, unanimously delivered the judgment after hearing petitions challenging the criminalisation of homosexuality. The apex court said that LGBTQ community possesses the same fundamental rights as other citizens. The verdict comes on five petitions moved by dancer Navtej Singh Johar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hotelier Aman Nath and business executive Ayesha Kapur. Here is a look at the petitioners -

• Navtej Johar: Navtej Singh Johar, a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee, is a renowned dancer and yoga instructor.  He is among the few male Bharatnatyam dancers of classical form in India and first Sikh to have taken to the art form.
• Sunil Mehra: Journalist Sunil Mehra is Johar’s partner. It is also reported that he is an oral storyteller and is a yoga instructor at Studio Abhyas.
• Ritu Dalmia: Chef, author, restaurateur and TV personality, Dalmia set up popular Italian restaurant Diva in Delhi. Dalmia is a lesbian and is a prominent LGBT rights activist.
• Aman Nath: Co-founder and co-owner of the Neemrana chain of hotels and founding members of INTACH, he completed his education with a post-graduate degree in medieval Indian history from Delhi University.
• Keshav Suri: Lalit Hotels scion is an active campaigner for gay rights in India. He has been an active campaigner for LGBT rights in India.
• Ayesha Kapur: A business executive by profession, she is also reportedly known for performance in 'Black' where she played a young Rani Mukherjee.

There were also 20 former and current students of the IITs who filed petitions.