The Supreme Court in India upheld legislation on Wednesday that makes homosexuality a crime.
Lawmakers overturned a 2009 lower court ruling that decriminalized homosexuality, in a move that has left the LGBT population in India outraged.
"This is a very sad day for us, we are back to square one in our fight for the democratic rights of the gay community," representative from activist group Humsafar Trust Ashok Row Kavi said.
"We feel very let down," lawyer Anand Grover, who represented advocacy group NAZ Foundation in the case, added. "But our fight is not over and we will continue to fight for the constitutional right."
Supreme Court judges reportedly said that only legislators could change the colonial-era law that bans homosexuality.
Once the ruling was delivered, groups of activists listening outside the court started crying and hugging one another.
"We cannot be forced back into the closet," gay rights activist Gaytan Bhan said, according to USA Today. "We are not backing off from our fight against discrimination."
Grover told USA Today that the NAZ Foundation intended on requesting that the Supreme Court review the decision.
The law, which was first put in place in the 1860s, states "whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal," could receive a prison sentencing of up to 10 years.
The New Delhi High Court ruled in 2009 that the legislation went against base human rights. Conservatives and religious organizations, in turn, argued that homosexuality was a threat to traditional Indian morals.
"Only a man and a woman constitute a family and contribute for the holistic development of a child, which is not possible without a father and a mother," head of the Prayas organization for children's welfare Amod Kanth said on Wednesday, applauding the ruling to ban homosexuality.
The LGBT community in India has long struggled for recognition and acceptance in the country. Although some citizens in large cities like New Delhi have started to acknowledge gay rights, some homosexuals still encounter police harassment, demands for bribes, attacks and rejection from family.
