Queer the courts
Published on: 30 January 2024, 12:37 pm
Queer lives cannot be adjudicated on without being represented in the administration of justice, both as lawyers and judges, argues Rohin Bhatt.
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"THE Constitution is not for the exclusive benefit of governments and states… it also exists for the common man, for the poor and the humble … for the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker."
Thus said Justice Vivian Bose in his judgment in Bidi Supply Co. versus Union of India.
This has been the philosophy that underlies much of the work that I do inside and outside the courts.
But there have been two recent instances that have shaken me to the core and perhaps added to the doom and gloom that surrounds being a queer lawyer in this country.
Courts often become a site of violence and discrimination against queer persons themselves, instead of being dispensers of justice.
First was Justice Pankaj Jain of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The issue before the court was a same-sex couple seeking protection from violence from their family.
“Courts often become a site of violence and discrimination against queer persons themselves, instead of being dispensers of justice.
These are routine petitions which come up before the court. The job of the court is to simply analyse whether there is a real and imminent threat to the life and limb of the couple, and if it finds that there is such a threat, they are given police protection.