General Bipin Rawat says ‘we won’t allow gay sex in Army’ 

General Bipin Rawat.

The chief of Indian Army, General Bipin Rawat, said gay sex is not acceptable in the Army. He said he can’t say what will happen in the future, but currently, the force will be dealing with it under various sections of the Army Act.

The chief of the Army staff, on Thursday, said this during his annual news conference, in New Delhi, when a reporter asked him about the issue in the wake of the Supreme Court decriminalizing gay sex in September last year.

Gen Rawat said, “Aap logon me chalega to chalne do. Humare yahan nahi chalega (If it [gay sex] is happening among you [civilians], let it happen, [but] we won’t allow this to happen in the Army.) In the Army LGBT ‘issues’ are not unacceptable. We will still be dealing with them under various sections of the Army Act.”

Talking about the Supreme Court ruling, he said, “We are not above the country’s laws but when you join the Indian Army, some of the rights and privileges you enjoy are not what we have. Some things are different for us, but we are certainly not above the Supreme Court.”

Talking about the Army’s stand on gay sex in the future, the general said,

“We will have to see how we take a call, let us also see how it comes into the society … whether it's accepted or not ... I can’t say what will happen 20 years down the line.”

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