The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the central government to respond to a public interest petition filed by a women’s organization, which stated that the rights and benefits of transgender people may be affected by the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act brought in by the central government.
This petition was filed on behalf of the organization ‘Women’s Declaration International India’. It stated that ‘legal rights available only to women by birth, reservations, seats for women in local bodies, separate rooms for women in prisons, sports competitions, and the protections women receive during criminal investigations, among others, are likely to be affected by the Transgender Rights Amendment Act brought in by the Central government’.
This petition came up for hearing on Wednesday before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. At that time, senior advocate Akhil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, said, “The petitioner’s concern is that this amendment law should not in any way interfere with or diminish the legal rights that are available only to women by birth.”
The petitioner does not oppose the right to identify as transgender. There is no objection to respecting that right and providing them with the facilities they need.
Instead, the petitioner’s concern is whether transgenders will be given separate reservation or whether they are also entitled to claim the seats reserved for women in local bodies,” he said.
Hearing this, the Chief Justice said, “A case related to this issue is already under consideration in the Supreme Court. Even so, the argument put forward by the petitioner’s side adds a new dimension to this case,” he said.
Responding on behalf of the government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, “The Central Government is preparing a reply affidavit to the petitions already filed regarding the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act. The government will also consider the issue now raised by the petitioner.”
Following this, the judges ordered the Central Government to issue a notice and respond to this petition.
While a law has already been enacted regarding the right of transgender persons to self-identify, the Central Government recently brought in a new amendment to it.
Against this, a petition had already been filed in the Supreme Court. It stated, ‘This amendment law has brought back the mandatory procedure of requiring a person to obtain a certificate from a medical board, after removing the right to determine one’s own gender. This amounts to depriving the constitutional guarantees of equality (Article 14), non-discrimination (Article 15), freedom (Article 19), and personal dignity (Article 21).’ The hearing on this petition is pending in the Supreme Court.
