Chennai: In a huge relief to the LGBTQIA community in Tamil Nadu, the state government has amended the legislation that governs its police force, Tamil Nadu Subordinate Police Officers Conduct Rules, to insert a clause banning any harassment of LGBTQIA + (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual) people.
To ensure that no person belonging to the marginalized LGBTQIA community or their allies are harassed, the government has introduced the clause that states, "No police officer shall indulge in any act of harassment of any person belonging to the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual)+ community and those working for the welfare of the community."
The order of the state home department comes in the wake of the Madras High Court order of 2021 directing the Tamil Nadu government to amend the police conduct rules by including a provision of punishment if any police personnel harasses LBGTQIA + people or NGO's that assist them. Justice Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court in his order said,
"A specific clause is to be added to the Police Conduct rules specifically providing that any harassment by the police to persons belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community and/ or to the activists of the NGO's that support them will be treated as misconduct and will entail punishment for such misconduct".
