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

Dec 16, 2021 10:10 PM IST

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.

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)
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.

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“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.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    He is principal correspondent based at Bhopal. He covers environment and wildlife, state administration, BJP and other saffron organisations. He has special interest in social issues based stories.

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