ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT ORDERS PROTECTION TO SAME-SEX COUPLE

3^rd NOVEMBER,2020

The Allahabad High court has ordered protection for a same-sex couple, considering the discrimination they face by the family members and society. A writ petition was filed by the Sultana Mirza and Kiran Raani of Shamli after they apprehended harassment and threat to their life after being in a live-in relationship.

A bench comprising Justices Shashi Kant Gupta and Pankaj Bhatia ordered the Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Shamli District to extend necessary protection to the petitioners and ensure that they no more face harassment. Mentioning the Supreme Court's decision in the Navtej Singh Johar case, the Allahabad High Court said that being a constitutional court, the court must observe constitutional morality and the rights of the citizens who were in this case under threat only on account of their sexuality.

The judge said that Sexual orientation is an intrinsic element of liberty, dignity, privacy, individual autonomy, and equality. Intimacy between consenting adults of the same-sex is beyond the legitimate interests of the state.

Author: Shweta Singh