Same-sex relationship: SC stays HC order for psychiatric counselling

Hearing a petition filed by her lesbian partner, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud directed the family court at Kollam to arrange an interview of the detenu with a senior judicial officer, a member of Supreme Court e-Committee, within two days.

: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed an order by the Kerala high court directing counseling of a woman who claimed to be in a same-sex relationship and ordered for a report in a sealed cover on whether she was being illegally detained by her parents as alleged by her partner.

“There shall also be a stay of further proceedings before the high court till the next date of listing,” the bench said, posting the matter for February 17. (HT)

Hearing a petition filed by her lesbian partner, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud directed the family court at Kollam to arrange an interview of the detenu with a senior judicial officer, a member of Supreme Court e-Committee, within two days.

“The officer shall, after interacting with the detenu, submit a report after ascertaining her wishes and on whether she is voluntarily residing with her parents or is kept under illegal detention,” ordered the bench, also comprising justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala.

“There shall also be a stay of further proceedings before the high court till the next date of listing,” the bench said, posting the matter for February 17.

Ordering the family court to forward the report of the interview in a sealed cover, the bench asked the concerned principal family court judge and the assigned judicial officer to ensure that “the statement of the detenu is recorded in a fair and free manner without any coercion or duress from the parents.”

The petition was mentioned before the court on Monday morning by advocate Sriram Parakatt and MS Vishnu Shankar seeking urgent listing of the case. The bench directed the lawyers to get ready with a copy of the petition for each of the three judges. Later, the court heard their arguments and noted that the high court sent the detenu for counselling on February 2. The HC passed the order on a habeas corpus petition.

“The petitioner and the detenu are in a same sex relationship... the direction of the high court for the detenu to attend counselling sessions is fundamentally erroneous,” said Parakatt.

Challenging the high court order, the petition said: “The counselling herein is obviously counselling to change her sexual orientation. This counselling is proscribed under law and the high courts of Madras, Uttarakhand and Orissa have specifically and categorically prohibited it.”

Parakatt said the order violated the 2018 judgment of the Supreme Court decriminalizing homosexuality under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and recognising rights of LGBTQ community to express their sexual orientation.

The petition also challenged an order passed by the high court last month directing the district legal service authority to visit the detenu at her home for recording her statement. During this visit, the detenu gave a statement that she was in a romantic relationship with the petitioner but was not in illegal detention by her parents. The petitioner claimed this statement was under duress and that she should be made to physically appear in court.