AAJ TV : Pakistan Ki Awaz

NEW DELHI : India's government is set to accept a landmark court ruling that decriminalises gay sex between consenting adults, a report said on Wednesday.

The July verdict by the Delhi High Court was non-binding outside the Indian capital, meaning the government had the choice to appeal to the Supreme Court or repeal the law nationwide.

A note from the cabinet, reproduced by the CNN-IBN television network, recommended that the government should accept the court ruling while letting the Supreme Court rule on appeals by some religious groups.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to make a final decision this week, but CNN-IBN said he was in favour of following the advice in the cabinet note.

Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1860 under a statute introduced by British colonial rulers that banned "carnal intercourse against the order of nature." Conviction carried a fine and maximum 10-year jail sentence.

The Indian government had previously offered mixed messages on the issue, with some ministers in favour of the colonial-era statute and others against.

Several religious groups have challenged the court verdict and are expected to present their cases to the Supreme Court later this month.

The ruling in July was hailed by gay activists as a milestone in their struggle for equal rights in socially conservative India.

Although prosecutions were rare, gay activists said police used the law to harass and intimidate members of their community.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2009