Supreme Court ruling on Transgender rights
A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, after hearing the petition filed by the National Legal Services Authority, passed a historic judgement on Transgender Rights on April 15, 2014.
“Recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue,” Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan told the Supreme Court while handing down the ruling.
It was fitting that Supreme Court verdict of India chose April 15 specifically to rule favourably in the National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 400 of 2012]. It was on April 15, 2008, that the Aravani (Transgender) Welfare Board was constituted by the Tamil Nadu state government, as the first of its kind in the country. Trans* and queer communities in the state celebrate April 15 as Transgender Day. Many welfare measures enacted by the TN Transgender Welfare Board have been taken up as country-wide recommendations by the Report of the Expert Committee of the national Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment. Per Justice Sikri, these recommendations are to be implemented in six months (i.e. by October 15, 2014) after re-examining them in light of the legal declaration made in the judgement.
- The judgement and summaries
- Private member’s bill passed in Rajya Sabha
- Government seeks clarification from Supreme Court: Sept 11, 2014
- Legal analysis of the judgement
- Background material
- Coverage in print media
- Coverage in visual media
- Cake
The judgement and summaries
- The full text of the judgement [download]
- Statement from Lawyers Collective [download]
- The operative part of the judgement
Download : [English, Tamil] - A summary, by Danish Sheikh
Download : [English, Tamil] - A critique by NUJS, West Bengal [download]
Lok Sabha Transgender Rights bill (2016) bill
- The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill (2016)
- Responses to the Lok Sabha Transgender Rights bill [Orinam link]
MSJE Transgender Rights bill (2015) bill
- Rights of Transgender Persons (MSJE) draft bill 2015
- Collated responses by diverse groups to the MSJE 2015 bill [Orinam link]
Private member (Tiruchi Siva) bill (2014) passed in Rajya Sabha
- Rights of Transgender Persons Bill 2014
- Rights of Transgender Persons Bill (2014) moved in Rajya Sabha: MP Tiruchi Siva [Orinam analysis and external links]
Government seeks clarification from Supreme Court: Sept 11, 2014
- Govt of India asks Supreme Court to clarify/modify NALSA judgement
Orinam, Sept 11, 2014 - Thinking through the application for “clarifications” of transgender rights
Kafila, Sept 12, 2014
Analyses of the judgement, and other post-NALSA developments
- Undetermined Discriminations: Trans* persons Rights Emerging post 2014 in India
Akhil Kang, Orinam blog, Oct 19, 2015 - NALSA and beyond: presentation on transgender people and Indian laws [Siddharth Narrain’s talk for Nazariya, New Delhi]
Orinam blog, Aug 31 2015 - Affirming transman’s right to self-determination and dignity: Bhat vs. NCT of Delhi and ors.
Orinam blog, Oct 6, 2015 - Disciplining Trans* Bodies: some cases from Malaysia and India
Akhil Kang, Orinam blog, July 21, 2015 - External Affairs not compliant with Supreme Court ruling on transgender rights
Orinam blog, June 3, 2015 - Sampoorna Rejoinder to Jackuline Mary verdict
Orinam blog, June 2, 2014 - FTM and Intersex inclusion in NALSA? Jackuline Mary vs. The Superintendent of Police, Karur
Orinam blog, May 6, 2014 - Equal in every way
The Hindu, May 4, 2014 - Not just his and hers
Danish Sheikh, IE, April 26, 2014 - Functional aspects of the SC judgement on Transgender rights in India
A. Mani, Orinam blog, April 25, 2014 - Ending the gender binary
Chapal Mehra, The Hindu, April 22, 2014 - Male, female and more
Pawan Dhall and Madhuja Nandi, Varta, April 22, 2014 - Third but not insignificant
Arvind Narrain, DNA, April 21, 2014 - Is sex the problem in India ?
Sukhdeep Singh, Gaylaxy Magazine, April 20, 2014 - SC judgement on Transgenders will positively impact society
Karak Lahiri, Economic Times, April 20, 2014 - Gender Outlawed: The Supreme Court judgment on third gender and its implications
Gee Imaan Semmalar, Round Table India, April 19, 2014 - Figure this: Gender and identity, (comparison with other countries)
Aleesha Matharu, April 19 2014 - Thoughts on the SC judgement on Transgender recognition and rights
Aniruddha Dutta, Orinam, April 19, 2014 - Beyond male and female, the right to humanity
Ratna Kapur, The Hindu, April 19, 2014 - One court, two mindsets
Raju Ramachandran. April 18, 2014 - Why the Transgender verdict is an incomplete one.
Satya, Livemint. April 17, 2014 - (En) Gendering a Rights Revolution
Siddharth Narrain, Kafila. April 16, 2014 - National Legal Services Authority versus Union of India — Preliminary Reactions.
Danish Sheikh, Law and Other Things blog. April 16, 2014 - SC landmark transgender judgment: What it says, what is good and what it muddled up.
Anandita Mukherjee, LegallyIndia.com blog. April 15, 2014 - NALSA v. UoI: The Supreme Court on transsexuals, and the future of Koushal v. Naz.
Gautam Bhatia, Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy blog, April 15, 2014
Background material
- NALSA vs. Union of India and others: writ petition, October 2012
- Written submissions by Lawyers Collective on behalf of Laxmi Tripathy
- Report of the Expert Committee to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
- A merged pdf file of all the documents in the report
- Recommendations to Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment by 11 authors, with emphasis on inclusion of trans masculine persons.
- Discussion Paper on Transgender Health and Human Rights (UNDP, December 2013)
- PUCL-Karnataka report, 2003, on human rights violations against the Transgender community
- Umbrella Schemes announced by MSJE in 2014 following NALSA verdict.
Coverage in print media
- Opens in a new page
Coverage in visual media
- Discussion on NDTV (Hindi) (featuring Olga, Shabhnam Mausi, Laxmi Tripathy)
- ABC Australia (audio interview with Kalki Subramaniam)
- News 24
- Times Now (embedded)
- Today World News
And .. cake !
