LGBT activists were feeling optimistic as India's supreme court was set to rule on whether homosexuality is illegal.

India's highest court will rule whether to uphold Article 377 of the penal code,  a statute introduced to India and many Commonwealth nations by the British and prohibits "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal." 

Activists hope the five-judge bench will dismiss one the worst legacies of colonial era rule and send a clear message that LGBT people should live without discrimination. 

Justice Indu Malhotra earlier this month said homosexuality "is not an aberration, but a variation". "Because of family pressures and societal pressures, they are forced to marry the opposite sex and it leads to bi-sexuality and other mental trauma," according to The Independent.

The Indian government has said it would not oppose the matter and leave it "to the wisdom" of the court.