~By Naved Ahmed
Within weeks of the Supreme Court Judgment which decriminalized homosexuality, high courts around the country have been taking steps to ensure to ensure the enforcement of the judgment. The Kerala HC & the Delhi HC have come to the rescue of same-sex couples living in fear due to their relationship of the once forbidden love.
The Delhi HC stood up for a Lesbian Couple recently, when it ordered the Delhi Police to ensure protection for them. The two women, aged 20 & 21 came forward seeking protection from the court after the Supreme Court in its landmark judgment decriminalized homosexuality and alleviated the stigma attached to it. The couple was afraid of their safety & liberty as their parents disapprove of the couple’s relationship. The couple had left their native residence in Rajasthan and had come to Delhi to live a better life. The couple had been asked to separate by their parents. Living in a state of fear, they approached the court asking for police protection. Justice Nazim Waziri directed the Delhi Police to ensure protection to the couple and ensured them that a police officer will talk to them every day. The couple mentioned that they had approached the police but did not get any satisfactory commitment, as a result of which they moved the court.
Similarly, the Kerala HC also allowed a lesbian couple to live together, when their parents were seen opposing it. A division bench of Justice CK Abdul Rehim and Justice K P Narayana Pisharody passed the order which allowed the couple to live together
This case comes off as an extension of the decriminalization of homosexuality as it is getting the recognition and the subsidiary protection, it deserves. The case had come forward when a 40 year old woman’s plea alleged that her partner had been illegally confined by her family. She alleged that her partner was illegally detained, and was put under mental torture and even admitted into a mental hospital.
All of this comes as a corollary to the judgment of the apex court where it unanimously struck down colonial era law that held homosexuality as illegal. It has pronounced that consensual gay sex isn’t a crime anymore. Since then, many have come forward and lauded the judgment.
It is reassuring to see that the High Courts are helping same-sex couples in ensuring their liberty and protection. Same sex couples can only hope that not just the judiciary, but even the police will come forward ensuring the security of the people who were too afraid to come out and ask for help simply because of who they lloved.