A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela on May 28 posted the matter on July 16 to enable the petitioner to bring more facts on record

The Delhi High Court would in July hear a plea to prosecute those involved in sexual crimes against animals.

A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela on May 28 posted the matter on July 16 to enable the petitioner to bring more facts on record.

The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) in its PIL highlighted the "complete repeal" of Section 377 (unnatural sexual offences) of IPC under the newly-enacted Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

While Section 377 of the IPC was rightly read down by the Supreme Court in the 2018 Navtej Singh Johar judgment to decriminalise consensual same-sex relationships, its complete deletion from BNS inadvertently decriminalised sexual violence against animals, leaving them unprotected by law, it argued.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, the plea said, in its report on BNS highlighted the removal of Section 377, proposing reinstating it to address non-consensual sexual offences against men, transpersons and animals.

The plea, filed through advocate Varnika Singh, sought the restoration of the provision that specifically criminalised sexual crimes against animals under the erstwhile Section 377 of IPC.

 Concerns grow over legal vacuum as India moves to repeal Section 377 in the wake of disturbing cases of sexual assault of animals

In April alone, the PIL referred to a couple of crimes being reported in the national capital.

While a man was arrested in Shahdara area for allegedly raping several dogs, a pet dog, which succumbed later, was found unconscious on a road in Saket and a condom was retrieved from its intimate parts.

The PIL also referred to an incident in Coimbatore, where a construction worker was found sexually abusing a dog.

FIAPO's CEO Bharati Ramachandran, in a statement, said, "Animals cannot defend themselves. They deserve justice and protection from sexual violence under law.”