V. CHITAMBARESH, J.

1. There's a gender in your brain and a gender in your body. For 99 percent of people, those things are in alignment. For transgender people, they're mismatched. That's all it is. It's not complicated, it's not a neurosis. It's a mix-up. It's a birth defect, like a cleft palate.

Said Chaz Salvatore Bono who himself was a transgender, advocate, writer, musician and actor.

2. A hapless mother seeks the issue of a writ of habeas corpus or other appropriate writ to produce her son by name Aby James who is allegedly detained by some trans-genders and set him at liberty. The petitioner states that her son (the detenu) has of late started behaving abnormally and is violent at times necessitating admission in Stella Maris Hospital, Padupuram. The petitioner adds that the detenu is diagnosed as having mood disorder with psychotic features and was treated as an inpatient that helped him to gain insight temporarily. It appears that the detenu went out once to return after a week and thereafter has permanently left the parental home on 9.5.2018 and has not returned so far. It also transpires that Crime No. 477/2018 was registered under Section 57 of the Kerala Police Act, 1960 for man missing on the complaint of the petitioner to the Police. The detenu was later produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate-II, Aluva on 19.5.2018 who however let him off after finding that he is a major competent to take decisions. The petitioner laments that she could not bear the sight of the detenu in the robes of a woman and she also learns that he has rechristened his name as Arundhathi. The petitioner states that the detenu has shown no inclination to return home and is wandering with trans- genders exposing himself to the risk of physical abuse and organ transplant.

3. The detenu appeared before us dressed as a female and asserted that he is a transgender by birth and does not suffer from any sort of mental aberration as is alleged by the petitioner. But the petitioner brought to our notice the past history of psychiatric treatment being extended to the detenu and wanted an immediate medical/psychological evaluation. We paused here for a moment to ponder as to whether acceding to such request would be termed as a judicial overreach and violative of the right of a 'person' to live with dignity. The Supreme Court has recently delineated the powers of the Constitutional Court exercising Parens Patriae jurisdiction in Shafin Jahan vs. Asokan, 2018 (2) KLT 571 (SC). It was held therein as follows:

“45. Thus, the Constitutional Courts may also act as Parens Patriae so as to meet the ends of justice. But the said exercise of power is not without limitation. The courts cannot in every and any case invoke the Parens Patriae doctrine. The said doctrine has to be invoked only in exceptional cases where the parties before it are either mentally incompetent or have not come of age and it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that the said parties have either no parent/legal guardian or have an abusive or negligent parent/legal guardian.”

(Emphasis supplied)

4. We directed medical/psychological evaluation of the detenu by the Kusumagiri Mental Health Centre, Kakkanad, Ernakulam which was necessitated only because it was alleged that he is a psychiatric patient. A team of doctors comprising of the Chief Psychiatrist, Psychiatrist and Medical Superintendent and Clinical Psychologist evaluated the detenu for about two days. It was found that the orientation of the detenu was normal and he has no thought disorder or hallucinations or inappropriate mood indicative of no mental incompetency. The following extract from the medical report dated 6.6.2018 furnished by the Kusumagiri Mental Health Centre after evaluation throws light on the mental state of the detenu:

“Aby James informed that he used to dress himself like girls from childhood. He used to keep company with girls during school life. He has aversion to males and avoid their com