In a progressive and landmark judgement, the Madras HC has issued guidelines for the protection of LGBTQ+ community by the state and police.
Justice Anand Venkatesh, who pronounced the judgement as a single judge bench, himself underwent psycho-educational sessions to understand same-sex relationships better.
THe guidelines set by him prohibit any attempts to medically ‘cure’ or change the sexual orientation of LGBTQ+ people. Talking about the need to sensitise society about LGBTQ+ community, he said:
Ignorance is no justification for normalizing any form of discrimination. Educators should reach out to parents, to help sensitize parents on issues of LGBTQIA+ community and gender nonconforming students, to ensure supportive families.
The guidelines put forth by the court also said that if police comes across any case of missing persons involving consenting adults belonging to the LGBTQ+ community, they shall close the complaint without subjecting them to any harassment.
You can read the guidelines in this Instagram post.
The decision and the entire process is being hailed by netizens.
This is such positive news. We have a long way to go from here but this step by the Madras HC will pave the way.