‘Illegal approach for parenthood’: Bombay HC grants bail to lesbian couple in kidnapping case | Mumbai News
NEW DELHI: The Bombay high court has granted bail to a lesbian couple accused of kidnapping a five-year-old girl, observing that their actions, while illegal, stemmed from a desire to have a child.
Justice Manish Pitale, in a November 19 order, noted that the couple, part of the LGBTQ+ community, had already spent eight months in jail. “At worst, it can be said that the applicants undertook an illegal approach to satisfy their desire of having a child by conniving with co-accused persons to take away the minor girl from her parents,” the court stated.
While prima facie evidence supported a kidnapping charge, the court held that it was a bailable offence. The judge further noted there was no material to suggest the child was exploited.
The FIR, filed in March 2024 by the child’s parents in suburban Mumbai, alleged their daughter went missing on March 24 and was last seen with a local woman. Police traced the girl to the couple’s house the next day, leading to their arrest.
The accused, who claimed to have been in a live-in relationship for a decade, expressed a deep desire to have a child. They reportedly paid ₹9,000 to co-accused individuals to “arrange” the child.
The court acknowledged the couple’s challenges as same-sex partners unable to conceive biologically or adopt under current laws, adding that they faced ridicule in society and within the confines of jail.
The couple maintained in their plea that the child was treated well during her stay with them. The case, which involves three other accused, remains under investigation.
