Bill to decriminalize homosexuality is consistent with Constitution – Supreme CourThe Bill brought to decriminalize same-sex acts is not inconsistent with the Constitution, the Supreme Court has determined.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena today announced to Parliament that he received the Determination of the Supreme Court in respect of the Bill titled “Penal Code (Amendment)” which was challenged in the Supreme Court in terms of Article 121(1) of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court is of the opinion that the Bill as a whole or any provision thereof is not inconsistent with the Constitution, the Speaker said
The Bill was presented by SLPP MP Premnath C. Dolawatte as a Private Member Bill to amend Sections 365 and 365 (A) of the Penal Code. It was later approved by the Cabinet and printed on Government Gazetted.
Following the Supreme Court determination, the Bill can be passed with a simple majority in Parliament.
