Before Pridemon, at a critical moment for the Indian LGBTQ community, Madras High Court On May 22nd, people can form a family other than marriage.
Decisions taken over by the judge Gr Swaminathan And V. Lakshminarayanan emphasized that “marriage is not the only mode of finding a family”, recognizing the concept of “chosen family” as an established principle of LGBTQ jurisprudence.
Two judges, Madras High Court panels ordered the release of a 25-year-old lesbian woman who was forced to separate from her partner and harassed by her birth family.
The Madras High Court has sharply criticised local police for accidentally covering the case and denounced their decision to return the woman to her parents against her will. The two judges condemned the police’s “ranking omission” and insensibility, emphasizing that government authorities, particularly law enforcement, have a duty to respond promptly and appropriately to complaints from LGBTQ people, and that rights and security are supported.
The Madras High Court expressed anxiety in the term “queer,” pointing out that the dictionary’s definition is “strange” or “odd.” The judges questioned the adequacy of labels in the context of describing LGBTQ identity, and urged language sensitivity to reflect community dignity and rights.
“For gay individuals, their sexual orientation is natural and normal,” the judge said. “There’s nothing strange about such a trend. Why should they label it strangely?”
A judge in the Madras High Court observed that not all parents accepted the identity of their children, comparing the mother of a detained woman to the late judicial Leila Seth, who publicly supported the sexual orientation of her son. The panel emphasizes acceptance as a model of Seth’s family understanding and the need for social compassion for LGBTQ people.
“The boring mother is not Leila Seth,” the court said. “We understand her desire to have her daughter live a traditional heterosexual life, get married and settle down. But as an adult, boredom has the right to choose her own path.”
The Madras High Court emphasized that a broad understanding of the concept of “family” must be understood, citing the Supreme Court’s marriage equality case and other precedents. These international guidelines confirm that all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, have the right to full human rights and strengthen the court’s stance of recognizing selected families within the LGBTQ community.
“The Supriyo case may not legalize marriages between same-sex couples, but they can form families very well,” the court said in its order. “The concept of “chosen family” is well resolved and recognized in LGBTQIA+ jurisprudence. Petitioners and boredom can constitute a family very well. ”
Madras High Court has referenced Supriyo Chakrabortyv. Unionof IndiaThis is a marriage equality case awarded by the Supreme Court in 2023.
The Supreme Court in that ruling refused to expand the right to marriage to same-sex couples, but reinforced the court’s appeal to recognize the rights of queer people to form families, urging the government to explore the protection of citizen unions, and expanding family understanding.
Madras High Court includes landmark awards Narsa vs. India Union (2014), it confirmed the right to self-identify as one’s gender, Navtej Singh Joharv. IndiaUnion (2018), it is the same-sex relationship that decriminates same-sex relationships, and Shakti Vahiniv. IndiaUnion (2018), which supported the right to marry by choice as a fundamental right. The two judges who reaffirmed their sexual orientation are personal choices and fall within the scope of individual freedoms protected underneath. Article 21 of the constitution.
Article 21 guarantees the right to life and individual freedom and states that these rights must not be deprived of them except for legal proceedings. This fundamental right is broadly interpreted by courts including dignity, privacy and autonomy, including protection of sexual orientation and other individual identities.
Souvik Saha, an LGBTQ activist and founder of People for Change, India’s leading advocacy group, described the recognition of selected families in the Madras High Court as both a relief and validation of the living reality of the community.
As the founder of ” Jamshedpur Queer Circle And for decades, those who worked closely with LGBTQ+ individuals to navigate rejection, violence and social isolation have built ecosystems where queer and trans people are nurtured outside their biological families. It is the source of survival mechanism, healing, and a space to find dignity, belonging, and love. The fact that the judiciary now officially acknowledges these relationships indicates progressive and humane change in the way families are understood legally and socially. ”
Saha shared the story of S, a transgender man from Jamshedpur, who was 17 years old and whose biological family dismissed him.
Finding a shelter with the strange couple who became his guardian, S was guided through education and gender-affirming healthcare, praised milestones like birthdays. “Not that family?” asked Saha.
Saha told the Washington Blade that the Madras High Court ruling hopes for legal reform. Especially when securing adoption, inheritance and care rights for queer people. He said the decision affirmed that queer lives are not deviant but that they can form diverse, vibrant, loving, responsible families. Most importantly, according to Saha, it sends a strong message to the strange young people in Jamshedpur and other small cities that their lives and relationships are effective and valuable.
“This ruling takes a step forward, but we have to be honest. A legal ruling alone will not change the behavior of the police unless the government continues to reform its structural reform,” Saha said. “Indian police are still patriarchal, caste and heteronormatic. Many officers still consider LGBTQ identity to be criminal or immoral, even after Section 377 was abolished in 2018.”
Saha said that all police academies’ forced sensitization programs are needed to change attitudes. He said that including queer rights in law enforcement curriculum is also important beyond token workshops. Saha added that it is necessary to recruit LGBTQ liaison officers and to create a compliance mechanism at the district level.
“This ruling is a strong message from the judiciary, but unless the Ministry of Home Affairs and the state police department institutionalizes this into practice, the changes will remain slowly and uneven,” Saha said.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
