‘Indian Army Can’t Allow Homosexuality, Adultery, Would Deal With Them Under Army Act’: General Bipin Rawat

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Thursday (10 January) said that though Indian military is not above the law, it cannot allow adultery or homosexuality in the institution, News 18 has reported.

During his annual press conference, General Rawat said that such actions are not acceptable in the army.

Supreme Court, in September last year, had decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under section 377 of the IPC which was hailed by LGBTQ activists. Supreme Court, last year, had also struck down a colonial-era anti-adultery law.

Army Chief accepted that the army is not above the law but maintained that Constitution does give it some independence. “We are neither modernised, nor westernised. LGBT issues are not acceptable to us," he was quoted in the report as saying. The military would "still deal with the issues under the Army Act", he added.

The law governing the three arms of the Indian military bar homosexuality and adultery.

General Rawat, when asked about the court ruling on adultery, said that the army is conservative. “We can’t allow it to perpetrate into the Army,” the Army chief was quoted in Hindustan Times as Saying.

In United States, there was a policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell till 2011, under which military personnel were barred from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian or bisexual persons from military service.

United Kingdom, too, barred service of homosexuals till the year 2000. However, since then homosexuals have been openly allowed to serve in the army.