New Delhi, Feb 29: Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today expressed regret over the faux pas made by a senior law officer in the Supreme Court on the issue of homosexuality and said this had “embarrassed the Home Ministry and the government”.
The government will also soon file an affidavit on the directions of the Supreme Court informing it about the stand taken by the Union Cabinet on decriminalisation of gay sex.
“An affidavit is being filed on the basis of (i) the GoM's recommendation, (ii) the cabinet's decision, and (iii) the letter conveying the Cabinet's decision to the Attorney General,” Chidambaram told reporters after presenting the monthly report of his ministry.
He said there was no difference of views between the Home Ministry and the Union Cabinet. “MHA can't have a view different from the Cabinet's view. MHA is part of the Government of India.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked a group of three ministers to look into the matter and make a recommendation and the Cabinet, after due considerations, came to conclusion that “we need not file an appeal of the Delhi High Court judgement but the Attorney General will be asked to assist the Supreme Court in deciding any legal issue.
“This was faithfully conveyed by the MHA to the Attorney General. Unfortunately, the counsel, who handled the brief on that day, without any instruction took a position which I am sure inconvenienced the Supreme Court, which I regret. That position also embarrassed the MHA and the government, he said and added this prompted the ministry to issue a statement clarifying the matter.
“So, it is really no U-turn for the government. We have a clear position. The counsel took the U-turn and we (government) then had to do another U-turn to come back to the original position,” the Home Minister said.
