As many as 189 Indian citizens used sexual orientation as a ground to seek asylum in the United Kingdom since 2015, but applications fell after the Supreme Court struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in 2018, figures released on Thursday show.

According to latest immigration statistics from the Home Office for the year ending June 2020, the list of top five countries whose citizens mentioned sexual orientation in asylum applications is headed by Pakistan, followed by Nigeria, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Namibia.

Applications from Indian citizens on the basis of sexual orientation for the last five years were: 33 (2015), 59 (2016), 54 (2017), 21 (2018) and 22 (2019), the figures show. Of the total number of 189 applications, decisions (grants or refusals) were reached in 163 cases.

The Home Office’s country policy and information note for India on notes that on September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that consensual sexual acts between adults, conducted in private, was no longer an offence under Section 377 of the IPC.

“The historic ruling effectively scrapped the colonial law, which deemed sex between consenting gay men, a punishable offence”, the note adds.

The 189 applications based on sexual orientation were among overall 8837 asylum applications made by Indian citizens in the period 2015-19. Of all asylum applications from citizens of various countries, the grant rates are among the lowest for Indians: 3 per cent.

The figures also record that the list of largest number of voluntary returns to country of origin of those either detained under immigration rules or those who are in the country illegally is topped by Indians: 1,290, or 16 per cent, in the year ending June 2020.

Visitor visas issued during the year were down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese and Indian nationals accounted for 42 per cent of all such visas issued, but they were down 44 per cent for Chinese and 41 per cent for Indians compared to the previous year.

“There were falls in the number of visitor visas granted due to travel restrictions implemented in response to Covid-19 to almost all nationalities, with the largest falls seen for: Chinese nationals, down 273,105 (-44%); Indian nationals, down 206,206 (-41%)”, the Home Office said.