In a rather amazing development, Justice N Anand Venkatesh from the Madras High Court said that he isn't fully 'woke' when it comes to same-*** relationships and mentioned that he would make an appointment with a psychologist so he could understand the relationship better and 'pave the path for his evolution'.

© Twitter/Live Law

This comes after a lesbian couple, filed a plea of protection and the justice had asked the couple as well as their parents to seek counselling on this matter. 

Justice Anand, after seeing the whole case, understood that the case needs to be dealt with “sensitivity and empathy”

As there was progress, in this case, the court also issued a few guidelines to deal with this matter and ensured that the couple is treated with dignity and feels secure.

© BCCL

The Judge also admitted that he is himself trying to get over the stigma and preconceived notions based on homosexual relationships. 

After the session with the petitioners and the parents, the result of the counselling said that the parents are slowly accepting the same-*** relationship but are still concerned about the stigma and if they would be excluded by society for the same.

The process will take a while and since it requires time and effort, the court suggested undergoing one more session of counselling with the psychologist.

As per the observation of the Judge, he said in the order "I want to give myself some more time to churn. Ultimately, in this case, the words must come from my heart and not from my head, and the same will not be possible if I am not fully “woke” on this aspect."

'Will Pave Way For My Evolution' : Madras HC Judge Decides To Have Psycho-Education Session To Understand Same-*** Relations Better @_Akshita_Saxena https://t.co/PE1khFySqw

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) April 28, 2021

He also mentioned "For this purpose, I want to subject myself for psycho-education with (psychologist) and I would request the psychologist to fix a convenient appointment for the same. I honestly feel that such a session with a professional will help me understand same-*** relationships better and will pave way for my evolution. If I write an order after undergoing psycho-education, I trust that the words will fall from my heart." 

The court has also ensured that the case filed on the parent's complaint be closed stat. 

Here's how people on Twitter reacted to the Judge's decision:  

That is the best response for a decision maker before entering into an unknown or less known territory. Sadly a lot of judges think it beneath them to get educated better on critical issues.

— complaint.boy (@complaintboy) April 28, 2021

When Justices open their minds, you know you are on the right path to free choice and equality, the constitutional rights.

— MRidiculous (@mridiculed) April 28, 2021

These type of judges deserve to be called “Your Honour”. Great to see such open mindedness, such humility, such acceptance of conscious, sub-conscious & unconscious prejudices.

India’s judiciary is in safe hands.

— ConcernedCitizen (@Concern43673922) April 29, 2021

This a great positive response. The country would be grateful for such gestures and honest efforts.

— Sanjay Dwivedi (@srdlegal) April 29, 2021

Thank you sir. Your name will be sketched in Gold.

— 𝑺𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝑲 𝑴 (@SreekuttanKM99) April 28, 2021

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