Madras High Court reunites transman and woman who were forcibly separated by woman's father

The Madras High Court recently stepped in to reunite a transman and a woman who were in a relationship and had been living together before they were forcibly separated by the woman's father. .A Madurai Bench of Justices V Bharathidasan and Nisha Banu were dealing with a Habeas Corpus petition moved by the transman (petitioner) seeking the release of his partner from her father's custody. ."Therefore, considering the fact that the detenue is a major and she is willing to go with the petitioner, on her own volition, we set the detenue at liberty and permitted her to go along with the petitioner," the Court said..The Court was told that the petitioner and the woman had fallen in love and decided to enter into a relationship. The woman later left home after sending letters to the police intimating that she had left her parental home voluntarily to live a life of her own. She thereafter shifted to Chennai with her partner (petitioner)..While so, in May this year, the woman's parents came along with the police and forcibly separated the couple. The petitioner had to approach the High Court for relief, on the ground that his partner was taken by her father against her will. .To decide on the matter, the Court personally interacted with the woman. The woman told the Court that she had left her parental home and gone with the petitioner on her own. She also said that she wanted to go with the petitioner and not her father. .The Court was further told that the couple had been living together for over three years, that the woman was fully aware that the petitioner was a transman and that she wanted to live with him. The petitioner also expressed that he wanted to live with the woman. The father of the woman remained opposed to the relationship..The Court proceeded to order that the woman be left free to live with the petitioner since she had expressed that this was what she wanted to do. .Advocate Anisha Gupta appeared for the petitioner. Standing counsel S Ravi appeared for the State. Advocate K Kumaravel appeared for the woman's father.