Supreme Court will review law criminalizing homosexuality under section 377

The Supreme court on Tuesday said that it will review a decision on weather to uphold a colonial-era that criminalizing gay sex in victory for homosexual rights campaigners at a time when the nation is navigating a path between tradition and modernity.

The Supreme Court, which imposes a 10 years sentence for gay sex, is constitutional, a lawyer for a gay-right group said.

It is definitely a move forward,"said the lawyer Anand Grover as activists gathered outside the court cheered.

This was the last legal avenue for campaigners to use the courts to strike down the law. Otherwise any future decisions to lift the ban will rest with the country's politicians who are largely conservative and oppose any changes.

The Supreme Court made a surprise rule in 2013 that reinstated a ban on gay sex, That decision ended a four years period of decriminalization that helped bring homosexuality into the open.

Human rights group Amnesty International India welcomed the court's review, saying that the law puts homosexual under physical, mental and legal threat. The Supreme Court have given them a second chance to correct the grave errors," Amnesty said.

National survey shows about three-quarters of Indians disapprove of homosexuality and are deeply traditional about other issues of sexuality such as sex outside the marrige.

India is one of the 75 countries around the world that outlaws homosexuality , according to the Intentional Lesbian and Gay, Bisexual, Trans and  Intersexual Association.

Although the law banning homosexuality is rarely enforced in India, it is used to blackmail, harass, intimidate and exort money from homosexuals, activists say.

The previous Congress-led government pledged to repeal the law if they come to power again.