A queer individual, namely Jebin, has sought judicial intervention of the Kerala High Court to be able to access and get released the dead body of their deceased partner, namely Manu. According to reports, Manu’s family has refused to accept their body, which has been lying in the hospital for the past two days. Since queer couples are not recognised by the state and there exist no legal rights for them in the eyes of the law, Manu’s partner Jebin has approached the court in the matter. Dealing with the loss of their partner, Jebin now faces the challenge of arranging for their funeral and final services, however, unfortunately, due to existing laws not recognising their relationship, Jebin cannot claim their body and thus has to approach the courts.
According to The News Minute, Manu was declared dead on February 4, after he fell from the terrace and suffered grievous injuries that proved to be fatal. He was taken to Aster Medcity hospital. According to the report, the family members have refused to take responsibility for settling medical bills and coordinating the removal of the body from the private hospital in Kerala’s Kochi.
Following these events, Manu’s partner Jebin made a petition to the High Court in Kerala to get custody of Manu’s body, according to News18. The High Court had reviewed the petition, and thereafter, a formal notice was given to the private hospital through email.
TNM has reported statements from Athul PV, who is a friend of the couple as well as an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, who revealed that Manu and Jebin were partners for several years and had even recently celebrated their marriage in a traditional ceremony last year, despite the lack of official recognition under Indian law.
The case was heared on February 6 with the bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran. The counsel representing Jebin, who according to reports happens to be Kerala’s first transgender lawyer, Advocate Padma informed the court that Jebin was ready to settle all of the medical bills owed to Aster Medcity Hospital and appealed to the bench to grant permission for Jebin to take Manu’s body from the hospital for his final rites.
The judge heard the case again on February 8, and also directed the family to present their perspective.
Despite being a state that performs well on the educational and social and economic indexes, Kerala has been often criticised and called out by many with regards to its treatment of the LGBTQIA+ community. This is also not the first instance of prejudice that has made the news. In 2020, the state was in the news again after Anjana Suresh committed suicide after she was reportedly given conversion therapy after coming out to her family as bisexual. A report by The News Minute claims that conversion therapy is something that is not out of ordinary and states that family members often take LGBTQIA+ people to psychiatrists and rather than providing support to the person, many psychiatrists align with parents, resorting to shaming and unnecessary medication.
The struggle for rights continues for the community which received a setback in 2023 after the Supreme Court judgement on marriage where the Supreme Court declined to legalize same-sex marriage. The unanimous decision of the five-judge Bench asserted that there is no inherent fundamental right to marry. Furthermore, the court stated that marriages between queer people cannot be incorporated into the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
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