HC pulls up Delhi, UP police over forceful removal of trans man from shelter

Seeking an explanation from the authorities over the alleged forceful taking away of a 22-year-old transgender male from a shelter home in the national capital, the Delhi high court on Wednesday said an adult cannot be taken away against his will even by his parents.

Seeking an explanation from the authorities over the alleged forceful taking away of a 22-year-old transgender male from a shelter home in the national capital, the Delhi high court on Wednesday said an adult cannot be taken away against his will even by his parents.

Delhi high court. (Archive)

A bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and justice Amit Sharma noted that there was a “distinction” in law between a minor and an adult and unless the latter is not “wanted” in connection with a case, he cannot be taken away against his will even by his parents, especially when he is not “missing”.

“(When) somebody is missing you go and pick him up in the middle of the night? You say a person is missing and you locate him and he says I am fine. Do you have to take him to the police station just because somebody has reported him missing?” the bench said.

According to the plea by the shelter home, Mitr Trust, the trans man was picked up by the UP Police from their home on the night of July 22 with the “assistance” of the Delhi Police on the basis of a missing person complaint that was lodged in Uttar Pradesh.

It alleged that a police team “whisked away” the self-identified transgender male past midnight on the pretext of recording his statement and he has since, neither been seen nor heard of. The plea said he was living in the shelter home of his own volition and feared that “he would not be spared” if his family found him.

Pulling up the authorities, including Delhi and UP police, the court said there were judgments holding that an adult cannot be forcefully taken away but “nobody seemed to be reading them”.

“There are judgments. It seems nobody seems to be reading them. Even the parents can’t do it. This court has already held that even parents can’t do it. They can’t take away their adult child against his will. We can’t permit this for the simple reason,” the court said.

The court issued notice to the Delhi Police, Uttar Pradesh Police as well as the central government on the petition which sought compensation for the violation of the trans man’s fundamental rights and sought their responses.

“We want a counter affidavit. In the affidavit, you have to tell us what the Delhi Police did. No status report in this,” the court said as it granted a period of four weeks to the respondents to file their replies.

During the proceedings, the Delhi Police’s advocate said the trans man willingly went with the UP Police and his family, adding that a statement was also recorded by the local police.

To this, the court said, “When it comes to Delhi, you are responsible. He was taken away from your jurisdiction; you have to explain to us. You can’t just keep passing the buck.”

The court also quizzed the Delhi Police on its claim that he willingly went with the UP police. “You think it happens, especially when he is not missing?”

Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for the petitioner, said those police officers have to be accountable and urged the court to investigate the role of the officers involved in the incident.

He also prayed for a direction to the central government to formulate a protocol to deal with such incidents.