Kerala transwoman forced to undergo conversion therapy gets HC relief

The HC’s ruling on July 1 came in response to a petition filed on behalf of the transwoman by her friend pleading for directions to her family to produce her in court and set her at liberty.

The Kerala high court allowed a 19-year-old transwoman to live freely after she was allegedly held in illegal detention by her parents and sister and forced to undergo therapy aimed at ‘altering’ her gender identity.

The bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and PM Manoj held that LGBT persons like other heterosexual persons are entitled to their privacy and the right to lead a dignified existence without fear of persecution (File photo)

The bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and PM Manoj held that LGBT persons like other heterosexual persons are entitled to their privacy and the right to lead a dignified existence without fear of persecution.

The HC’s ruling on July 1 came in response to a petition filed on behalf of the transwoman by her friend pleading for directions to her family to produce her in court and set her at liberty.

The transwoman, who was assigned male sex at birth, told the court that she was subjected to familial violence when she came out revealing her gender identity. She alleged that she was admitted to Amrita Hospital in Ernakulam by her family and coerced into signing a consent form for ‘therapy aimed at altering her gender identity.’ She was allegedly administered medication without her consent and threatened with being labeled as mentally ill if she insisted on discharge from the hospital.

The court ordered the family of the transwoman to produce her and interacted with them in private. The HC acknowledged the transperson’s wish not to return to her family residence and heard the submissions of the government pleader, her family and the petitioner’s counsel.

The court cited the National Legal Services Authority v Union of India to recognise the right of transgender persons to decide their self-identified gender. It also cited Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India case and the Supreme Court’s ruling that ‘sexual orientation is innate to a human being.’ “It is an important attribute of one’s personality and identity. Homosexuality and bisexuality are natural variants of human sexuality,” the HC said.

“We are of the view that the choice expressed by her needs to be respected and she should be permitted to live her life on her own terms,” the court said.

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