Chandigarh, April 26: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday directed police protection for a Bathinda lesbian couple facing death threats.
Swaran Kaur, 20, a police constable, and her childhood friend, Harsharan Kaur, 28, moved the court, saying they have been forced to go into hiding as their families were threatening to kill them for their relationship. The couple, from Bathinda district's Blahar Vinjhu village, have been staying together for the last nine months. They appeared before the court briefly.
"Hardeep Kaur (mother), Harbhajan Kaur (sister), Jaswinder Singh (brother) are family members of Harsharan Kaur, and Jagpal Dass (father), Mukhtiar Kaur (mother), Bhupinder Singh (brother) are family members of Swaran Kaur, who are opposing our relationship," they told the court.
The couple sought protection citing the Delhi high court's 2009 judgment legalizing same sex relationship. The two pleaded that that they are in a lesbian relationship which is not punishable under any provision of law. They said they moved the court for protection only after they failed to settle the matter amicably. "Our adamant family members are bent on eliminating us,'' they said.
"We have not committed any offence. We are major and capable of differentiating between right and wrong. We are living in hiding and can be eliminated when traced by our families," the couple said in their petition.
Swaran, who is posted at Maur police station in Bathinda, said she is in government service and could maintain her partner as in any other relationship. She told the court that the Bathinda SSP ignored her plea to provide them protection from their families.
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