Suicide case on girl-turned-man quashed by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed an attempt to suicide case pending against a girl-turned-man involved in a lesbian “marriage” in Punjab in June 2007.

Allowing a petition from “Ms X” challenging a Punjab and Haryana high court refusing to quash the FIR, a bench comprising Justices V. Gopala Gowda and Adarsh Kumar Goel said “no purpose will be served” by pursuing the case against “Ms X,” who is now a 28-year-old man, having undergone a sex-change operation.

The FIR said on July 7, 2007, the petitioner inflicted injury on her left hand with a view to committing suicide. Further even during first aid treatment, the petitioner repeatedly threatened to commit suicide.

Appearing for Ms X, senior counsel Anand Grover said it was a clear case of unnecessary harassment as the police had initially maintained that she had inflicted only a minor injury on her wrist.

Further, they had parted ways three weeks after secretly tying the knot in June 2007. He said the families of the two girls of Batala town, the other one identified as “Ms Y” had taken them to the police station to get them admonished for running away from home and getting “married” when one of them made a minor cut on her wrist. They were 19 and 20 years of age at that time.

Subsequently, Ms X underwent surgery to become a male and he is now living separately, the counsel said.

Accepting the plea, the bench said: “The petition makes it appear that Ms X and Y are no longer together and are happily leading their respective lives separately and no useful purpose will be served by continuing with the prosecution.”