Sonia Gandhi said she was disappointed that the apex court had reversed previous Delhi High Court judgement decriminalising homosexuality and hoped Parliament would address the matter.

“I am disappointed that the Supreme Court reversed the previous Delhi high court ruling on the issue of gay rights,” Gandhi said in a statement.

She was obviously alluding to the option of legislation. “The high court had widely removed an archaic repressive and unjust law that infringed on the basic human rights enshrined in our Constitution.

“This Constitution has given us a great legacy, a legacy of liberalism and openness, that enjoin us to combat prejudice and discrimination of any kind,” the Congress President said in a statement.

She said, “We are proud that our culture has always been an inclusive and tolerant”.