The court also directed the police to follow the guidelines issued by it in June against discrimination of LGBTQIA+ community.
The Madras High Court on June 25 ordered police protection for a 24-year-old queer woman allegedly facing harassment, death threats and missing persons complaints from her family after she came out to them. The court also directed the police to follow the guidelines issued by it in June against discrimination of LGBTQIA+ community.
According to the court order, after Divya* (24) told her parents that she was queer; she started facing abuses and death threats from family members. Fearing for her life, Divya left her house in April this year. Despite moving out of the house, Divya allegedly received repeated phone calls from her family to know about her whereabouts. Over the course of the next few days, her father’s brother also sent a WhatsApp text with an FIR copy of missing woman complaint in Divya’s name. However, all this while, the family was in touch with Divya.
As Divya grew apprehensive about her family with regard to her safety, she petitioned the court seeking police protection on June 22. The counsel, representing Divya, also said that her client was allegedly forcibly married off after she finished class 12, when she was 17 years old, and not allowed to pursue higher education. “In due course, Divya realised she is queer and could not stay in heterosexual marriage,” the petition said.
Subsequently, Divya was staying with her partner Shubha* for a few weeks. However, Shubha’s brother also filed a police complaint. As a result, Shubha was forcibly taken away by her brother, despite being over 18 years of age. “The petitioner tried to reason out with her family members that no longer heterosexual relationship interested her. The family members of the petitioner thereafter subjected her to immense verbal and physical abuse. The petitioner’s family members informed that they would rather not have a daughter at all, someone like her,” the petition says.
In April 2021, Divya left the house with Shubha. “The petitioner is a major and she can decide her path of life as she wishes,” added the counsel.
Justice M Nirmal Kumar, upon hearing the case on June 25, said that police who had filed a missing person’s report should close it, as it was found through investigation that the complaint was filed against consenting adults belonging to LGBTQIA+ community.
The judge also added that Divya has consciously admitted that she belongs to LGBTQIA+ community. Hence, she and her partner living together are “conscious about their relationship.”
Further Justice Nirmal Kumar ordered “the respondent police is directed not to cause any harassment and also give appropriate protection for the safety and life of the petitioner following the guidelines issued by this Court” on June 7 on discrimination of people in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Read: In historic order, Madras HC gives guidelines against discrimination of LGBTQIA+ people
*Names changed
Source: The News Minute