Judiciary must perform role of catalyst for LGBTQIA+ rights: Former SC judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul

Time of India

21 hours ago

Former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Sanjay Kishan Kaul said that the judiciary must perform the role of a catalyst for the rights of LGBTQIA+ persons.
He was speaking on Saturday at the launch event of a policy document on recommendations for
queer inclusion
in India's legal and social landscape, organised by Keshav Suri Foundation and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
"The judiciary must perform the role of a catalyst. India's legislative landscape for LGBTQIA+ recognition has evolved, but significant gaps persist. The term queer is not defined in Indian law, and asexual individuals are invisible in policy frameworks," Justice (retd) Kaul said.
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During his keynote address, the former apex court judge also referred to the tennis player Radhika Yadav's murder case.
"The challenge that we face in our country, and actually across the world, I think, (about discrimination). See a thing as simple as a man-woman relationship, where a woman chooses on her own -- forget the cities, look at how it dealt with at different levels, inter-caste marriages; people let loose the process which destroy the lives of their children -- the recent episode two days ago where a father shoots her own daughter -- when we talk of problems; please look at the society all around; this also has to change," Justice (retd) Kaul said.
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He said that in February this year, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment introduced certain administrative measures for queer couples, including access to ration cards, joint bank accounts, and the right to claim a partner's body in case of death (if no next of kin existed).
"These measures, prompted by the Supreme Court's (earlier) judgment, are a step forward but remain limited, as they are not enshrined in statute and do not address comprehensive rights," he said.
Justice (retd) Kaul said that anti-discrimination law was more crucial in today's age, where access to capital was the requisite for access to capital.
"Starting a business, buying a house or even otherwise bridging personal needs is wholly dependent on factors such as ease of availing loans or finances, opening bank accounts. Undoubtedly, there are barriers to access for LGBTQIA+ persons to even something as routine as opening a bank account, which requires one to carry a document which conforms to gender identity," he said.
"An almost existential difficulty faced by LGBTQIA persons is access to goods, financial services and access to public infrastructure," the ex-top court judge added.
He said the future of queer rights required action in the realm of the legislature and the executive, with a coordinated effort across various ministries and departments.
"There is also, a degree of legislative inertia on the rights and entitlements of queer persons, which risks prolonging the legal limbo for same-sex couples seeking marriage, adoption, or inheritance rights. A conservative attitude still persists across a large populace of the country, which hinders acceptance," said Justice (retd) Kaul.
He said that the country was on a path of progressive recognition of the rights of LGBTQIA+ persons and that urban areas and younger generations showed greater openness, even while the rural and conservative communities remained hostile.
"I truly believe that the future is more promising than what is behind us, and in the words of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, 'Hope will never be silent," said Justice (retd) Kaul.