New Delhi: The Allahabad high court has set aside an order cancelling the appointment of a home guard after a video of him was circulated online, purporting to defame him for this sexual orientation.
LiveLaw has reported that a bench of Justice Sunita Agarwal noted that the counter-affidavit filed by the officer who had cancelled the appointment had stated that the sexual orientation of one Pramod Kumar Sharma was proof of “indulgence in untoward activity.”
The District Commandant of Home Guards, Bulandshahar, passed the order cancelling Sharma’s appointment in June 2019.
This, Justice Agarwal held, was in complete violation of the Supreme Court’s orders in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India.
“It was held that any display of affection amongst the members of the LGBT community towards their partners in the public, so long as it does not amount to indecency or has the potentiality to disturb public order cannot be bogged down by majority perception,” the Allahabad high court said.
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The high court directed the Commandant General of Home Guards at Lucknow to take Sharma back into service with immediate effect.
“The petitioner shall be entitled to all admissible dues and the honorarium shall be paid regularly as and when the same falls due,” Justice Agarwal said.