NEW DELHI, June 27 (Xinhua) -- In a move that may legalize gay marriages in India, the country's government is considering to repeal a law which considers homosexuality as a criminal act, a senior Indian government official said Saturday.

    "Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram is to convene a meeting of some of the Council of Ministers to evolve a consensus on the issue before they take it to the Parliament to repeal the act of the Indian Penal Code," the official said, on condition of anonymity.

    According to Article 377, sexual relations are banned among people of the same gender and it is punishable under an act of the Indian Penal Code.

    Though the Indian Home Minister and Law Minister Veerapa Moily are in favor of repealing the act, Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is yet to give his opinion.

    "If the law is repealed, gay marriages could be legalized in the country," he said.

    Earlier the Delhi High Court had sought a government's response in the wake of a case.