A lesbian wedding came to open in I-T city Bengaluru, has created flutter and police based on a complaint by one of the parents are on counselling mode, to make them aware of negative fallout of their wedding. In one of its first lesbian marriage in cosmopolitan Bengaluru, a 25-year-old woman, tied the knot with a 21-year-old woman, at a temple in Koramangala, an extension, recently in the city. In fact after learning this, one of the parents of the younger one, filed a police complaint and the police are trying to counsel them.
According to sources, the women are distant relatives and Nalini (name changed) the younger one is studying in B.Com and the Veni (name changed) the older one is working in a back office job. In her statement to the police, Veni has said she was attracted to her wife Nalini, since she was young. According to sources, both of them belonged to very orthodox families. They said, first they got acquainted and then it turned into love. Now, they got married in a temple. When Veni expressed her love for Nalini, it was initially met with a rejection, she said in the statement. However, Veni pursued and won the younger woman over.
It was in May 2007, they decided to run away fearing the parent’s wrath. They started living in paying guest accommodation and found a place together in Koramangala. After some time Nalini’s parents filed a missing complaint with the police and they were traced to a place in Koramangala living together. They have with the help of an NGO informed the police that they were not interested to go back to their parents. Police refused to act against the complaint because both of them are adults and there is no case but refered the matter to women’s help line.
The police then referred the case to Vanitha Sahayavani (women’s help line) in police commissioner’s office. Senior counsellor BS Saraswathi said she had spoken to both the women and their “counselling was on”.
According to Indian law, same-sex marriages are not legal and the Supreme Court re-criminalised Section 377 in 2013 after the Delhi High Court struck it down in 2009. Gowthaman Ranga, of the Alternative law Forum, said that since both are adults and have discovered love, nobody should persecute and prosecute them under Section 377.
Former public prosecutor S Doreraju says lesbian marriage is not recognised and is a punishable offence under Section 377, provided one of them becomes a complainant. “Parents of both the women can also lodge a complaint but not under IPC Section 377” he added.