NEW DELHI –In a landmark ruling Thursday that could usher in an era of greater freedom for gay men and lesbians in India, New Delhi's highest court decriminalized homosexuality.

RAJANISH KAKADE/The Associated Press

Gay rights activists in Mumbai, India, celebrate a ruling on Thursday that decriminalizes homosexuality in New Delhi. Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1861.

In a strongly worded statement, the Delhi High Court ruled that the 148-year statute prohibiting homosexual acts was discriminatory and therefore a "violation of fundamental rights."

"It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster dignity of every individual," the court said in a 105-page judgment, India's first to directly address rights for gay men and lesbians.

Thursday's decision applies only in the territory of India's capital city, but it is likely to force India's government either to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, or change the law nationwide, lawyers and advocates said.

"I am so proud of India. The ruling was made in the most exquisite terms of equality, of dignity, of privacy and of respect for all human rights," said Sumith Baudh, a member of Voices Against 377, a coalition of advocacy groups. "We know this will translate for the lives of many Indians into creating more tolerance, fighting harassment, isolation and depression they have long suffered."

But Indian society is deeply religious and bound by centuries-old traditions, and Hindu, Muslim and Christian leaders were quick to denounce the court's decision as harmful to family and traditional values.

Kamal Farooqi of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board called the ruling "a sad day for civilized society."

Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1861, when British rulers codified a law prohibiting "carnal intercourse against the order of nature." The law, known as Section 377 of India's penal code, has long been viewed by critics as an archaic holdover from colonialism.

Countries that still retain versions of this British sodomy law include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Sudan and Sierra Leone. Governments that inherited the same British law but have abolished it since include Australia, Fiji, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

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