The Delhi High Court overturned a 148-year-old law left over from British rule that outlawed all non-vaginal intercourse, deemed “against the order of nature.”

The Hindustan Times calls attitudes before Lord Macaulay drafted the law in 1860 “non-intrusive, even blasé.”

The Naz Foundation, a non-profit organization working for HIV/AIDS prevention, filed a public interest litigation in 2001. They argued that, in addition to its discriminatory nature, the law inhibits the fight against HIV/AIDS. The ruling came July 2.

England legalized homosexuality in 1967, 20 years after granting independence to India.