Give security to gay couple facing opposition from families, orders high court

The Supreme Court’s 2018 verdict on Section 377 said legal sanction to same sex marriages was not an issue that can be decided by way of judicial adjudication but by the legislature.

Updated on: Dec 16, 2021, 22:10:47 IST

By Neeraj Santoshi

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DEHRADUN: A gay couple in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar who approached the Uttarakhand high court for protection will get police security to shield them from their families that are opposed to their relationship and their decision to live together.

In September 2018, the Supreme Court read down section 377 of the penal code, which the top court said, “had become a weapon for harassment for the LGBT community”. (AFP File Photo)

The high court’s bench of chief justice RS Chauhan and justice NS Dhanik on Thursday ordered the district’s senior superintendent of police (SSP) to provide police protection to the couple, said the couple’s lawyer Vikas Anand. .The couple, aged 21 and 23, want to stay together but are facing opposition from their families, Anand told the court in the petition filed on December 15.

“After hearing the matter, the high court ordered SSP Udham Singh Nagar and Station House Officer Rudrapur to provide police protection to the youths. Notices have also been issued to family members from both sides (two members from each side),” he said

The Supreme Court in 2018 read down Section 377 of the penal code and ruled that sex between consenting adults was not an offence. Anand said the top court also ruled that any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation violates fundamental rights.

In June last year, the Uttarakhand high court underlined that while the law does not recognise gay marriage, consensual cohabitation between two adults of the same sex was not illegal or a crime. The observation was made during a hearing into a petition by a woman alleging that her partner, with whom the she was in a consensual relationship since 2016, was being wrongfully confined by her mother and brother.

The high court did not issue any directions in this case after the person alleged to have been detained told the high court that she was not being held against her will.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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