Immoral thing': Row erupts after HC judge's homophobic remarks

History owes a debt to members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism they suffered through centuries, the Supreme Court had held five years ago as it decriminalised homosexuality, affirmed the rights of the community, and asked the government to sensitise all stakeholders to stop discrimination.

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Punjab and Haryana high court judge, justice Pankaj Jain, apparently didn't get the memo The judge, who joined the high court bench in 2021, stoked a controversy on Friday when he reacted sharply to a case of a same-sex couple before him.

The petition was filed by a 23-year-old woman, who said that her 19-year-old partner was being held captive by her parents in Uttar Pradesh, one of a bevy of similar petitions that have been adjudicated favourably by high courts across the country, and even the apex court.

But justice Jain flew into a temper. "Is this a queer couple matter?...take this immoral thing back where it came from," the judge remarked in the open court, throwing the file.