The Bombay High Court has expressed an important opinion that the entire police force needs to be sensitized in the case of same-sex relationships. The family of a daughter of a same-sex couple filed a missing complaint. After that, the Bombay High Court was hearing the petition filed by one of them. The Bombay High Court heard a plea seeking protection against a complaint filed by one of the parents of a same-sex couple objecting to their relationship.
The High Court agreed that the police must deal with such cases with sensitivity and compassion for the couple. On July 6, the state government had promised the court to provide protection to the couple through plainclothes constables. However, on Wednesday, advocate Vijay Hiremath, counsel for the petitioners, told a bench of Justices Revathi Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse that the police had not received the High Court order for the women.
Hiremath asked the court to consider passing guidelines to ensure that such problems do not arise in the future. At the time, the court said, "It is necessary to sensitize the entire police force across the state."
A similar case was referred before the Madras High Court, which asked the Tamil Nadu government to start a sensitization program in all departments of the state. “The Madras High Court had issued guidelines following which the Police Conduct Rules were amended. There are 17 follow-up orders which were inserted after the order issuing the guidelines,” pointed out Justice Dere.
The judge also highlighted that to carry out the program, state departments would have to be admitted as parties to broaden the scope of the petition.
The High Court asked Hiremath to suggest what kind of amendments should be made to the police conduct rules. “You look at the rules given by the Madras High Court and look at the Maharashtra Police rules. Then see what needs to be done and then file. Implementation can be effective if the guidelines are incorporated across the state.” This is what the bench said in the end.
The next hearing in this case will be held on July 28. The couple had moved the High Court after one of the couple in the case was forced to return home by her family. The family filed a missing girl's complaint and contacted the Maharashtra Police, who informed the family about the girl's whereabouts.
