Uttarakhand High Court directs Superintendent of Police to protect the Life and Property of a Gay Couple threatened by their Parents

Mr. Rohit Sagar and Mr. Mohit Goyal filed a writ petition with the Uttarakhand High Court before a two-judge bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice N. S. Dhanik, wherein the petitioners are two gay men of major age living together in a live-in relationship. The respondents to the petition are the parents of the petitioners, wherein the parents did not approve of their respective son’s homosexual relationship; subsequently, the parents regularly threatened the couple. It is worth noting that the petitioners submitted a representation with the Senior Superintendent of Police, District Udham Singh Nagar on December 14, 2021, but the police allegedly did nothing to protect the life and property of the petitioners. Mr. Vikas Anand, the learned counsel for the petitioners held that the interference by the parents amounts to the fundamental right to choose their life partners. The bench agreed with the contention of the learned counsel and hence, held that the parents of the petitioners had no right to interfere in the life of the petitioners. The bench ordered the Superintendent of Police, District Udham Singh Nagar to extend protection to the life and property of the petitioners. The bench issued a notice in the same regard to the parents of the petitioners. The police are supposed to submit an affidavit within the next four weeks from December 16, 2021, outlining the steps taken by them against the respondents.