Not every parent is like Justice Leila Seth, who supported same-sex relationships, rues Madras High Court

Not every parent is like Justice Leila Seth, who supported same-sex relationships, rues Madras High Court

Our society is still conservative, and not every parent is like Justice Leila Seth (former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court who openly supported her gay son); however, that should not be a reason for the police to deny security to LGBTQIA+ couples facing threats, the Madras High Court has said.

A Division Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan made the observation while allowing a habeas corpus petition filed by a 25-year-old woman from Tirupattur against the illegal detention of her partner by the latter’s parents at their residence in Vellore district.

The judges allowed the detainee, also a major, to go with the petitioner after she confirmed that her parents had confined her at their residence against her will. Justice Swaminathan also gave ₹1,000 from his personal funds for the conveyance expenses of the same-sex couple.

The Divsion Bench also expressed reservations over the usage of the expression ‘queer’ to describe persons whose gender identity or sexual orientation was outside societal norms and said, there was nothing strange or odd about such inclinations and therefore, the usage was not appropriate.

“We feel certain discomfort in employing the expression ‘queer.’ Any standard dictionary defines this word as meaning ‘strange or odd.’ To a homosexual individual, his/her/their sexual orientation must be perfectly natural and normal... Why then should they be called queer?” the judges wondered.

Censuring the police for having forced the detainee to go with her parents when a complaint was lodged with them, the court held that the government officials, the jurisdictional police in particular, would be duty-bound to respond to complaints of threats or harassment received from members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“We also restrain the detenu’s natal family members from interfering with her personal liberty. We issue a writ of continuing mandamus to the jurisdictional police to afford adequate protection to the detenue as well as the petitioner as and when required,” the judges ordered.