Category Archives: Live in Relationship

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Chinmayee Jena v. State of Odisha and Ors. Writ Petition (Criminal) 57/2020

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

On the 24th of August, 2020, a division bench of the High Court of Orissa confirmed the right of a transgender man and a woman to be in a live-in relationship. The present case was a habeas corpus petition concerning the live-in relationship of a transgender man, the petitioner, and a woman, the alleged detenue. Summarily, the court confirmed their right to be in a relationship, and placed an obligation on the State to offer “all kinds of protection” to them to facilitate their exercise of this right. I will first summarily restate the facts of the case and then draw the attention of the reader to five items: 1. The judge’s easy recognition of the self-identified name of the petitioner—an important “best practices” for judges and lawyers dealing with SOGI matters. 2. The not completely relevant history of how the petitioner came to be recognized as a transgender man; 3. Arguably, familial ideology in motion, resulted in adjournments and the delay of the detenue’s (and the couple’s) live-in relationship right, along with certain fundamental rights; and 4. The usage of protection orders to secure the safety of the detenue and the couple.

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Madhu Bala v. State of Uttarakhand and Others Habeas Corpus Petition No. 8 of 2020

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Reading Time: 7 minutes

FACTS OF THE CASE

On the 12th of June, 2020, a single judge bench of the Uttarakhand High Court reiterated the legal position that a consensual relationship between persons of the same sex is not barred by law. This was a case of a live-in-relationship between two women, whose relationship was once again, openly acknowledged in court. In a previous blog, I had discussed that the open acknowledgment in court of a romantic relationship between two women was certainly something new to be seen after the Navtej Judgment in 2018. The first case to do so was Sreeja S. v. Comm. of Police, decided a few weeks after the Navtej Johar case. The present case follows in this line of cases. In this blog post I will demonstrate that the court makes remarkably strong theoretical points about the meaning of the fundamental right to liberty, which it equates with the exclusive right of an adult individual to decide with whom they want to live (among other things). However, the court severely waters down this right in application in this case. They do not implement the declaration made by one of the women in the relationship that she wants to continue to live with her partner because she makes this statement in the absence of her family. This raises the question: is this because of the deep-seated paternalism and homophobia of the legal system, or is it because the legal procedure requires the presence of her family members in this case. Even if this is the case, does the procedure itself suffer from paternalism and homophobia?

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Monu Rajput v. State and Ors. W.P. (Crl.) 1879/2019 and Crl. M.A. 30835/2019

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

Habeas Corpus Petition in Delhi High Court

On the 12th of July, 2019, a division bench of the Delhi High Court decided whether a habeas corpus petition filed by a transgender man (Monu) to set his romantic partner at liberty from her family members, could be allowed. The petition was filed against the State to ensure that if the detenue was indeed found to be detained against her will, she be at once set at liberty. Summarily, the court rejected the petition.

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