It’s a big day for the civil rights movement in India today. In a historic judgement declared by a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra on Thursday morning, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, that classifies homosexual acts as criminal, has been scrapped.

Calling Section 377 irrational and arbitrary, the judgement said: “Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a violation of freedom of speech and expression,” said the judgement of CJI Misra and J Khanwilkar. “We have to vanquish prejudice, embrace inclusion, and ensure equal right. Sustenance of identity is the essence of existence.”