Quick Facts
Biography
Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya was a justice of the Supreme Court of India. He currently heads the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. He previously served as Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court and also served as acting Chief Justice at the Jharkhand High Court and at Madras High Court.
Notable judgements
Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation
Main article: Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation
A Supreme Court bench of justice GS Singhvi and justice SJ Mukhopadhaya has upheld the Section 377 of India's penal code bans "sex against the order of nature", which is widely interpreted to mean homosexual sex.The judges stated that "a miniscule fraction of the country's population constitutes lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgenders" and that the High Court had erroneously relied upon international precedents “in its anxiety to protect the so-called rights of LGBT persons”. The United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay voiced her disappointment at the re-criminalization of consensual same-sex relationships in India, calling it “a significant step backwards” for the country and UN chief Ban Ki-moonstressed on the need for equality and opposed any discrimination against lesbians, gays and bisexuals. The decision is widely believed to be one of the lowest points of Indian Supreme Court jurisprudence.
The judgement was overturned by a larger constitutional bench on September 6, 2018 in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India case.