How Law United Kerala Same-Sex Couple After They Were Separated By Family

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday rescued a lesbian couple by reuniting them. The couple was allegedly separated by their parents and other family members by force. 

A Division Bench of Justice Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice C Jayachandran permitted the habeas corpus plea by Adhila and her partner Fathima Noora, who was taken away by her parents. 

The women were allowed to live together after Fathima moved a habeas corpus petition seeking a charge from the police to produce her partner. Fathima, a Kozhikode native, had been allegedly taken away by force by her parents from the petitioner's home.

Kerala HC Reunites Same-sex Couple

Initially asking the police to produce the Kozhikode resident, the mentioned appeared before the Bench and said that she wanted to live with the petitioner, Adhila. Both the women are adults and want to stay together. The court, therefore, granted the plea. 

Reports say that Adhila, from Ernankulm, took to social media to draw open-minded attention to her relationship with Fathima who was also her schoolmate. Their families opposed their relationship and separated the couple by force. Allegedly, the police had done nothing to rescue Fathima. However, according to a report by the DNA, police had claimed to have investigated the matter.

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According to reports, the two women met each other in Saudi Arabia during school days. By class 12, they realised their sexualities and that they were in love.

Being forced to lie that they would discontinue seeing each other when their parents found out about their relationship, they realised that their parents were not sensitised to gender and sexuality. Same-sex relationships were still taboo. After returning to India, they continued to see each other. 

According to Live Law, during the previous hearing of the case, the court asked for Fathima’s personal appearance before itself. On taking up the case, Fathima appeared in person and expressed her wish to live with Adhila. They were allowed the same and the court passed an order to that effect.

Keeping in mind the historical cisnormative and heteronormative framing of Indian law, it comes as no surprise that our courts are still struggling to grapple with the complexities around LGBTQIA+ issues. However, they have started somewhere in bringing about societal changes.