N Anand Venkatesh

On 28 April 2021, Madras High Court Justice N Anand Venkatesh passed an interim order in response to a petition filed by two young women with same sex orientation. According to the order, in an unprecedented move, he decided to undergo psycho-education before penning a judgment on same sex relationships.[4][5][6]

Ignorance is no justification for normalizing any form of discrimination

— Justice N Anand Venkatesh, Page number 49 out of 104

Judge said that psyhco-educative counseling on queer issues helped him shed his personal ignorance and prejudices. He clearly stated in the judgment that the responsibility to change, the burden of unlearning stigma, and learning about the lived experience of the queer community lies on the society and not the queer individuals.[7]

It was I (us), who has to set off on a journey of understanding them and accepting them and shed our notions, and not they who have to turn themselves inside out to suit our notions of social morality and tradition

— Justice N Anand Venkatesh, Page number 50 out of 104

The court recognized that there’s an absence of a specific law to protect the interests of queer people and acknowledged it is the responsibility of the constitutional courts to fill this vacuum with necessary directions to ensure the protection of such couples from harassment sourced from stigma and prejudices.[7]

Till the legislature comes up with an enactment, the LGBTQIA+ community cannot be left in a vulnerable atmosphere where there is no guarantee for their protection and safety.

— Justice N Anand Venkatesh, Page number 55 out of 104

On 7 June 2021, in delivering the verdict on this case, Justice N Anand Venkatesh prohibited Conversion Therapy. He suggested comprehensive measures to sensitize the society and various branches of the State including the Police and judiciary to remove prejudices against the LGBTQIA+ community. He suggested that changes be made to the curricula of schools and universities to educate students on understanding the LGBTQIA+ community.[4][8][9]

"This Court is unable to understand the need for such a knee-jerk reaction within hours of the material getting uploaded on the website. If someone really had a grievance, the same should have been addressed in a proper manner through proper consultation and meetings, and no one can be allowed to arm-twist a State-run council into forcibly withdrawing a material that came out after a long study by a committee."

— Justice N Anand Venkatesh, about the withdrawal of the NCERT report on gender non-conforming and transgender children from its official website.

The report titled 'Inclusion of Transgender Children in School Education: Concerns and Roadmap' was taken down within hours of its publishing, owing to external pressure.

The report, which was meant as training material for educators at schools, was removed from the site after the NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) sent a notice to the NCERT against the manual following complaints raised against the material from certain sections.

Justice N Anand Venkatesh, on addressing the needs of transgender children and those with binary identities, noted that sensitization has to start from schools and home, and without family support, children belonging to the community would never be able to get support elsewhere. The court reasoned that the report of an expert body cannot be disregarded due to opposition from a few quarters that still hesitate to recognize the LGBTQIA+ Community.

The judge directed the NCERT to submit its report on the issue before the court on 23 December.[10][11]