The Madras High Court has directed the police not to cause any harassment to a 24-year-old woman, belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community and living with another woman, and to give appropriate protection for her. Justice M Nirmal Kumar gave the direction recently, while passing orders on a petition from the woman seeking protection.
According to the petitioner, immediately after completing Class 12, when she was only 17 years old, she was not permitted to pursue higher education and forcibly married off. In course of time, she realised she was queer and could not stay in a heterosexual marriage. As a result, she and her husband had fallen apart and nothing survived in the marriage.
She also told her family members that heterosexual relationship no longer interested her. Her family subjected her to immense verbal and physical abuse. They told her they would rather not have a daughter at all, someone like her. She left her house in April this year along with her woman partner.
Her parents later lodged a complaint with the police, who registered a "girl missing case" followin which the present petition was filed. Allowing the petition, the judge directed the police not to harass the woman.
Citing a judgement of a division bench delivered on June 7, the judge said the police, on receipt of any complaint regarding girl/woman/man missing case, which upon inquiry/investigation is found to involve consenting adults belonging to the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay,bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and such others) community, shall upon receipt of their statements, close the complaint without subjecting them to any harassment.
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