India Court Seeks Advice To Make Police More Responsive To LGBTQ+ People
August 22, 2023India in its post-independence constitution promised “equality” to every citizen. The country’s Supreme Court in 2018 decriminalised consensual same-sex sexual relations, but it still has a long way to go.
The Bombay High Court, the highest court in Maharastra state, on Aug. 11 called for suggestions on how to make police officers more sensitive to the LGBTQ+ community. A division bench at the Bombay High Court was hearing a petition that a same-sex couple who requested police protection from their family filed.
The court asked for responses from the Mumbai police and prison authorities on how an amendment could be made to the Maharashtra Police Manual to sensitise cops in dealing with LGBTQ+ people, according to ‘Washington Blade’.
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“If two individuals want to live together, the police cannot interfere with them. Constitutional morality has to prevail over collective morality,” said Vijay Hiremath, a lawyer who was appearing for the petitioners.
Even though the Supreme Court ruled there should not be any discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in 2018, the community still faces social discrimination and harassment around the country. Four LGBTQ+ people in 2022 filed a police complaint against the police in Tripura state after they faced harassment and were detained for the entire night.
R Nazriya, a transgender police officer, in May claimed she faced harassment at work, even though an inquiry against her alleged harasser had begun. Sanjit Mondal, a gay man, in July 2020 claimed two civic police volunteers on motorbikes harassed him while he was returning home from visiting a friend in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state.
The Madras High Court, the highest court in the Tamil Nadu state, last year directed the state police to refrain from harassing LGBTQ and intersex activists, NGOs and community members. The court ordered a specific clause need to be added to the Police Conduct Rules, which punish officers who harass the members of the LGBTQ+ community, NGO employees and activists.
Following the Madras High Court ruling, the Tamil Nadu government introduced an amendment to the Tamil Nadu Subordinate Police Officers’ Conduct Rules and made harassment of LGBTQ+ individuals by the state police a punishable offence.
Hiremath told the Bombay High Court on Aug. 11 that Tamil Nadu prisons were conducting sensitisation programs after the Madras High Court issued a directive.
The Bombay High Court’s division bench noted the plaintiffs’ documents were not only about police sensitisation, but also included prison.
“[The] jail manual should be changed, keeping the LGBTQIA community in mind,” said Jaya, the general manager for Sahodaran, an NGO focusing on spreading awareness on sexual healthcare, mental well-being and helping people come out easily. “We need to sensitize police about LGBTQ community.”
While talking to the Washington Blade, Dinesh Chopade, associate advocacy director at Humsafar Trust, a Mumbai-based NGO that works to promote LGBTQ+ rights, reacted to the Bombay High Court’s ruling and said it’s a welcoming step, but the 2018 decriminalisation judgment also mentioned that government authorities should be more responsive to LGBTQ+ issues.
“One of the recommendations of the Supreme Court was to sensitize government authorities on the LGBTQ community. This is the direction, the Supreme Court had given to the center and the state government, but unfortunately, none of the states have taken the initiative,” said Dinesh. “We have taken the responsibility as a community-based organization, and we conduct sensitization training in police training academies. We have conducted training in Delhi, Nashik and Mumbai.”
Chopade further said his organisation is not waiting for government or any court orders to sensitise police across the country on LGBTQ+ issues. Chopade also said the Bombay High Court order would certainly create an impact and put pressure on government authorities to take this on a priority basis.
The Bombay High Court has directed the Inspector General (of Prisons) to be made a defendant in the petition.
Anjali Gopalan, a representative of Nirangal, an NGO based in Tamil Nadu that focuses on changing the social status and discrimination against people from all sexual minorities, genders, and sex workers in the state, told the Washington Blade it is a good move to remove any discrimination that exists against the LGBTQ+ community.
“People from the community don’t have the same rights as all other citizens of the country,” said Gopalan. “Government authorities, health care workers, teachers including police should be sensitized. Sensitization is critical.”
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