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Justice Markandey Katju opposes gay relationships, says women primarily a tool for procreation

Written By Shraddha Panicker | Updated: Dec 26, 2014, 07:20 PM IST

Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju sparked outrage on Friday with a post on his social media handles and blog titled 'Gay Relationships and Gay Marriages'. In it, the former Chairman, Press Council of India quotes selectively from the play 'Man and Superman' by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (who was known to have led a celibate married life) and a Hollywood movie Fatal Attraction to espouse regressive notions about members of the LGBT community as well as women. 

Describing the 'law of nature' and the concept of 'life force', Katju insinuates that the only purpose men and women exist is to fulfil the "powerful urge to reproduce". Keeping aside any reference to a bond between humans based on love, common interests and companionship, he goes on to say that "a woman has to get hold of a man, not merely to make her pregnant, but also to look after her and provide for her financially while she is performing this role." Never mind the options of advanced science and surrogacy or single moms earning and rearing their children successfully. Katju doesn't just stop at this, but goes on to make a case to say that "Women who remain single are prone to have psychological problems."

He also seems to have the science of dating and the pursuit of love, nay, reproduction all figured out. It is women who pursue men and not the other way around, he says, because ofcourse, the urge to reproduce clinically "drives women to pursue and catch a mate, who will then look after her while she is performing nature's serious and vital function of continuing the species." 

Ofcourse, if you were still unconvinced, he cites a famous Hollywood movie (Fatal Attraction, if you were wondering which one) to make an airtight case for his theory. In the movie, "It is a woman (played by Glenn Close) who tries to get hold of a married man," he says. But here is where we're getting really confused. Is Katju expressing his views on infidelity, outdated stereotypes about women or his opinion on homosexuals? 

Katju simply prefers to sweep away the reality of gay relationships dismissively by saying, "To my mind it is all humbug and nonsense. Will a gay relationship or gay marriage serve nature's requirement of continuing the species ? No, it is only sex between a man and a woman which will give birth to a child, not sex between a man and a man, or between a woman and a woman." 

Read the full post here:

 
Post by Markandey Katju.

Predictably, his post has raised the hackles of several people on social media. Many expressed that his argument against homosexuality is flawed and human relationships cannot be reduced to mere reproduction or based on movies.

The Supreme Court had in 2013 upheld Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises gay sex.