Following SC directive, Centre sets up panel to address queer community concerns

NEW DELHI: The Centre has constituted a six-member committee to examine and recommend on various issues affecting queer community. This is in keeping with the Supreme Court’s judgement in Oct last year in which it examined the issue of same sex marriages. The top court had asked the govt to form a committee to address the concerns of the queer community.

The order notified in the gazette on Tuesday by the law and justice ministry lays out a detailed mandate for the committee to make way for measures to ensure queer persons do not face any discrimination , threat of violence and involuntary medical treatment among other concerns.

While the Union cabinet secretary will be chairperson of this committee, the secretary of the ministry of social justice and empowerment will be the convener. Secretaries of ministries of home affairs, women and child development, health and family welfare and legislative department of law and justice will be members. The committee has been given the mandate to co-opt experts and other officers if necessary.

Some of the things that the committee has been asked to examine and recommend on include what measures must be taken by the central and state govts to ensure there is no discrimination in access to goods and services and social welfare entitlements to persons from the queer community; steps to ensure that the queer community does not face any threat of violence, harassment or coercion; to ensure that queer persons are not subjected to involuntary medical treatments, surgeries; and modules to cover mental health of queer persons.

In its Oct judgement, the SC had rejected the plea to legalise same-sex marriages ruling that the right to marry was not a fundamental right and the legislature alone had the power to regulate it in accordance with societal conditions. Recognising the concerns of same-sex couples, the bench directed that a high-powered committee be set up by the govt with the mandate to examine all factors relevant to the queer community.

The Court said that before finalizing its decisions the Committee must conduct wide stakeholder consultation amongst persons belonging to the queer community, including persons belonging to marginalized groups.