Same Sex Couple United: Kerala Court Says Consenting Adults Can Live Together

New Delhi: In a pathbreaking order, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday reunited a same-sex couple who had been separated by their parents and held that consenting adults can live together.

Justice Vinod Chandran passed the order in response to a petition filed by 22-year-old woman Adila Nazrin. She had told the court that her partner, 23-year-old Fathima Noorah, was forcibly taken away by her family, The Indian Express reported.

In the previous hearing, the judge had directed the police to produce Noorah before the court. On Tuesday, Noorah told the court that she wanted to live with Nazrin, Bar and Bench said in a report. The High Court then passed an order allowing the couple to stay together.

The families of both Nooran and Nazrin, however, are still threatening them, The Quint reported. She said that Noorah’s parents had earlier said in writing to the High Court that they would allow the couple to live together and not bother them.

“But now we have stepped out of the court, and they are blackmailing us,” she was quoted as saying. “We are afraid that this paper [the letter by Noorah’s parents] won’t be enough to keep us safe.”