Madras HC Judge decides to take psycho-education session to understand same-sex relations

In order to understand same-sex relationships better a Madras High Court judge on Wednesday sought an appointment with a psychologist. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh decided to undergo a psycho-education with a psychologist after admitting that he is “not fully woke on this aspect”. 

This comes after Justice Venkatesh had to respond to a case related to a lesbian couple, who demanded protection from their birth families -- opposing their relationship. The lawyers of a same-sex couple urged the court to issue guidelines to deal with cases of such similar nature in order to ensure that the persons involved in same-sex relationships are treated with dignity and their safety is also guaranteed. 

To this Justice Venkatesh said that he wanted to give himself “some more time to churn” and while hearing the petition he would want to undergo an educational session with Vidhya Dinakaran(a city-based psychologist).

Justice Venkatesh reportedly said, “ultimately, in this case, the words must come from my heart and not from my head, and the same will not be possible if I am not fully “woke” on this aspect,” He further stated that for this purpose he would want to undergo psycho-education and would request the psychologist Vidhya Dinakara to fix a convenient appointment for the same.

'Trying to break my own preconceived notions': Justice Venkatesh

"I honestly feel that such a session with a professional will help me understand same-sex relationships better and will pave way for my evolution. If I write an order after undergoing psychoeducation, I trust that the words will fall from my heart,” Justice Anand reportedly said. He admitted in an order passed on March 29 that he is also trying to break his “own preconceived notions about this issue” and is “in the process of evolving”.

Currently, the court is hearing a protection petition filed by two women-- a 22-year-old BSc Mathematics graduate and a 20-year-old BA Tamil student. The couple has known each other for two years now and informed the court they wanted to be together. Both women have been facing resistance and pressure from their respective families regarding same-sex relationships. The Court has asked the Petitioner-couple to be safely taken care of by an NGO and they should continue to talk with their parents on a regular basis.

The court also directed the families of both the petitioners to undergo another round of counselling and the Judge said that the couple’s parents couldn’t be expected to change their notions overnight. The court has kept the next hearing of the case for June 7, 2021.

(Image Credits: PTI)