On Saturday, the Bombay High Court ordered the Mumbai Police to protect a transgender male of 23 years old from being forced to leave the city at the instance of the parents. Also, the court directed the police not to take coercive steps against the petitioner( the petitioner is said to go by they/them pronouns).
In a plea filed under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution, a division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar awarded interim relief. The petitioner claims that their parents and the police are threatening their safety.
Justice Shinde stated that the police should not treat trans people as criminals, and since they are citizens of India and they should be protected. It was also added further that if anything happens to them it is going to be the responsibility of the police.
The petitioner’s Advocate Vijay Hiremath, told the court that the petitioner had returned to Mumbai against his parent’s wishes for the second time in March and that the parents are attempting to track them down with the help of the police. He added that the petitioner is in hiding since their phones are being tapped as well. Following that, the petitioner was forced to change their gender identification and sexual orientation. The petitioner, however, returned to Mumbai in March of this year, and the family has been trying to locate them since then.
The court subsequently granted the requested interim reliefs and set a hearing date for August 8.
