Delhi HC orders counselling for family acceptance of lesbian woman’s wishes
New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS) The Delhi High Court has issued a directive for the parents and maternal uncle of a 22-year-old lesbian woman to undergo counselling to help them come to terms with her sexual orientation and accept her as she wishes.
The court’s decision was made in response to a habeas corpus petition filed by the woman’s friend, who had claimed that the woman was missing.
After engaging with the parties involved, a bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna directed the police to take the woman to a shelter home and arrange for her accommodation and stay there.
The court asked the shelter home’s director to provide a counselling session to the woman, while also stating that her family members should receive counselling on alternate days.
The bench further directed the woman’s parents and other concerned individuals not to exert any form of threat or undue pressure on her or the petitioner.
The court noted that the parents of the woman had agreed to her being sent to the shelter home to reflect on her future and introspect.
The woman herself told the court that she was not willing to accompany her parents or any relatives and would choose to either go with the petitioner or to the shelter home.