Seeking to find her lesbian partner, a 21-year-old woman from Malappuram filed a habeas corpus petition in the Kerala High Court alleging that her partner’s family has been holding her captive. According to the petitioner Sumayya, on May 30, her partner’s family showed up at the couple's workplace and took her away without consent. Though the court had ordered the family to present A (Sumayya’s partner) in court on Friday, June 9, the family allegedly did not comply. The incident is taking place a year after lesbian couple Adhila and Noora were reunited in the High Court, after one of them was abducted by her own family and alleged to have been forced into conversion therapy.
Sumayya said that she has been living with A since January this year, after a Magistrate court refused to entertain the objections raised by their families. “We have been in a relationship for around two years now. Her family had once already held her captive when they first came to know about her,” she said. On January 5, Sumayya lodged a complaint with Vanaja Collective, a women-led collective that helps marginalised communities. With the help of the collective, A was brought out of her home on January 27. Their families subsequently filed missing persons complaints, and the two women appeared before the Malappuram Magistrate court on January 29, which ordered that they were free to live together.
Sumayya said that on May 30, A’s family arrived at their workplace to take her with them. While she was alerting Vanaja Collective over the phone, A was taken to a car. No violence was used, but a large number of people were present with the family, Sumayya said. “When I tried to approach the car in which my partner was seated, a person who had come with the family attempted to beat me. But some people stopped him,” she added.
Earlier on the same day, a person who identified as Venugopal, a retired police officer who was with the Cyber Cell, had called Sumayya over phone and inquired about their whereabouts. Sumayya said she did not share any details with him, but is suspicious that Venugopal might have helped A’s family trace their location. When she contacted Venugopal after the incident, he denied any connection with A’s family and said he had not shared any details with them, she said.
Sumayya said she had submitted complaints at the Puthenkurish station in Ernakulam and Kondotty station in Malappuram on May 30 itself. The Puthenkurish police had initially refused to accept the complaint. “They asked what the problem was if she was taken by her parents. It was only after we showed the Magistrate court’s order that they registered the complaint,” she said. The Kondotty police, however, have refused to take cognisance of the complaint.
On June 5, Sumayya filed a habeas corpus petition in the High Court. The court had ordered A to be presented in court on June 9. But when the court messenger went to A’s house, it was found locked, she said.
Meanwhile, the advocate appearing for A’s family informed the court on Friday that they would present her on June 19. Following this, the court ordered that she be presented on June 19.
Sumayya said she is receiving legal and other aid from Vanaja Collective. While her family is also not supportive of their relationship, they haven’t tried to forcibly separate them till now, she said.
A year ago, another Kerala lesbian couple Adhila and Noora had gone through similar experiences. Noora was abducted by her family and allegedly subjected to ‘conversion therapy’. It was after Adhila filed a habeas corpus petition with help from Vanaja collective that the couple were united on May 30, 2022.