Madras High Court Pulls Up Union Ministry Over Delay In Enlisting NGOs Working For LGBTQIA Community

The LGBTQIA community has for long been denied fundamental rights. The advent of the 21st century saw several state governments, NGOs and the Judiciary standing up for the marginalized community. In the most recent instance, the Madras High Court has pulled up the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in enlisting the NGOs working for the community. The Single Judge bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh observed that the concerned Ministry had not prioritized the issue. The Senior Panel Counsel had asked for adequate time from the Ministry on extending the scope of the 'Garima Greh' scheme to all members of the LGBTQIA Community and not the transgender persons alone.

Only 9 NGOs Enlisted For LGBTQ Community

On the other hand, when it came to enlisting the NGOs working for the community, the Court reprimanded the Ministry for its failure to do the required task and then uploaded it on their website as per the directions from the Court's end. Livelaw reported that the Court order mentioned, "The status report filed by the 10th Respondent (Ministry) is bereft of details. The Annexure to the report reflects that only nine NGOs are there in the entire country". Further, the Court order mentioned that the list was not the correct indication of the number of NGOs working for the community in the country. Moreover, the Court had repeatedly asked the 10th Respondent to undertake the process.

Preventing Potential Abuse

The Bench also warned that if the Ministry could not complete the process of enlisting the NGOs on their website before the next date of the hearing, the Under Secretary of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment would have to appear in the Court. It is essential to enlist the details of the NGOs working for the community because it would prevent the potential abuse inflicted upon the community.

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