CITATION: SUPREME COURT

DATE OF JUDGEMENT: 15 April, 2014

JUDGES: Justice K. S. Radhakrishnan and Justice A. K. Sikri.

PARTIES:

 1) National Legal Services Authority (Primary petitioner)

2) Poojaya Mata Nasib Kaur Ji Women Welfare Society

3) Laxmi Narayan Tripathy

Vs.

4) Union of India (Defendant)

RELEVANCY: GENDER EQUALITY TO “TRANSENDERS”                          

FACTS

The transsexual community face a great deal of embarrassment and disrespect in the current occasions. They are not permitted clinical, instructive offices, and so on. They are abused and annoyed by individuals. All these are infringement of the essential privileges of our nation and a few International Human rights reports which are given previously. This in the long run prompted the filling of the appeal. By prudence of the equivalent, laws overseeing marriage, selection, legacy, progression, tax collection, and government assistance were completely administered by whether you are male or female. Curiously, this assurance of sexual orientation is constantly done during childbirth. It is because of this absence of legitimate arrangements for people of the third sexual orientation that they confronted segregation across different backgrounds. In this manner the case preceded the court when a Public Interest Litigation was documented by the National Legal Services Authority followed by other petitioners too.

The petitioners were joined by several interveners. They argued that only binary genders of male and female were recognized under Indian law and the lack of legal measures to cater for the needs of the represented groups contradicted several constitutional rights including the rights to a dignified life, equality before the law, non-discrimination and freedom of expression.They are disrespected and exploited by people. The petitioners argued and reasoned how each fundamental right is being violated.  

ISSUE

(a) Whether a person who is born as a male with predominantly female orientation (or vice-versa), has a right to get himself to be recognized as a female as per his choice more so, when such a person after having undergone operational procedure, changes his/her sex as well?

(b) Whether transgender (TG), who are neither males nor females, have a right to be identified and categorized as a “third gender”?

According to Article 14 (right to equality) of the Indian Constitution, no person shall be discriminated based on sex, religion, etc. The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law within the territory of India. It is not restricted to male and female.

According to Article 15 of the Indian Constitution

The State shall not on the ground of race, sex, religion, etc. be discriminated Also no person should be on the grounds of religion, race, sex, etc. be restricted to use wells, shops, public restaurants, etc. They should also not be restricted to use wells, roads, etc.  It should not prevent the State from making any special provision for children and women.

Article 19 of the Indian Constitution which guarantees citizens freedom of speech, form associations or unions, to meet peacefully without any arms, etc. is also being violated over here and is perhaps one of the most important right which is being violated. Many times we can see that transgender’s don’t get to dress the way they like as it’s against the culture of our country. This right includes the right to expression of one’s self-identified gender. This expression may be done through dress, words, action or behavior or any other manner.

And finally, Article 21 of our Constitution which is the most extensive right guarantees citizens the right to personal life and liberty i.e. no person shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty except by law. Transgender’s have every right to live their life in a dignified and a respectful way. It also includes right to live with human dignity. Expression of oneself with respect to a gender which is self-recognized is an important part of Article 21.

Article 16 is also being violated which says that there should be equal opportunities to all citizens. No person shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence, etc. be discriminated. Transgender’s are not given equal job opportunities.

So because of every one of these reasons transsexual’s carry on with an intense life. In the event that their sexual orientation is perceived things would be a lot simpler for them. It would be simpler for them to fill structures and they won’t have any trouble in picking between genders as they would have a different sexual orientation in the structure. They won’t need to under any activity to perceive themselves under specific sex. They would get the opportunity to appreciate all the rights which male and female residents get the opportunity to appreciate.

DECISION

The Court declared that the Centre and State governments must grant recognition of gender identity as male, female or third gender in the eyes of the law. It was observed that transgender’s require full recognition in the eyes of the law. They should get to enjoy health care, education, etc.

By this judgment, all government documents such as ration card, passports, etc. would recognize third gender. The Court also held that the transgender’s are citizens of India and are fully entitled to get the benefit of all schemes and programs launched by the Government irrespective of their population.

The Court also decided that Hijras, Eunuchs are to be treated as “third gender”. It made various declarations and directions to the Centre and State Governments such as to operate separate HIV Zero-Surveillance Centres, Provision for separate public toilets and appropriate medical care in hospitals for transgender’s, frame various social welfare awareness schemes for the improvement of conditions of the TG community, to make the public aware about the atrocities against the TG community and to regain the respect and trust the TG community once enjoyed.

REASON

Sexual orientation personality is one of the most-crucial parts of life which alludes to an individual’s inborn feeling of being male, female or transsexual or transgender individual. Sexual orientation character alludes to every individual’s profoundly felt inside and singular experience of sex, which might possibly relate with the sex alloted during childbirth, including the individual feeling of the body which may include an openly picked, change of real appearance or capacities by clinical, careful or different methods and different articulations of sex, including dress, discourse and characteristics. Sexual orientation character, subsequently, alludes to a person’s self-distinguishing proof as a man, lady, transsexual or other recognized classification.

The Supreme Court took into consideration different foreign judgements like:

• In Corbett v. Corbett, the Court in England was concerned with the gender of a male to female transsexual in the context of the validity of a marriage. In this case, the court said that the law should adopt the chromosomal, gonadal and genital tests and if all three are congruent, that should determine a person’s sex for the purpose of marriage. Learned Judge expressed the view that any operative intervention should be ignored and the biological sexual constitution of an individual is fixed at birth, at the latest, and cannot be changed either by the natural development of organs of the opposite sex or by medical or surgical means.
• Christine Goodwin v. United Kingdom (Application No.28957/95 – Judgment dated 11th July, 2002), the European Court of Human Rights examined an application alleging violation of Articles 8, 12, 13 and 14 of the Convention for Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 1997 in respect of the legal status of transsexuals in UK and particularly their treatment in the sphere of employment, social security, pensions and marriage. Applicant in that case had a tendency to dress as a woman from early childhood and underwent aversion therapy in 1963-64. In the mid- 1960s she was diagnosed as a transsexual. Though she married a woman and they had four children, her inclination was that her “brain sex” did not fit her body. From that time until 1984 she dressed as a man for work but as a woman in her free time. In January, 1985, the applicant began treatment at the Gender Identity Clinic. In October, 1986, she underwent surgery to shorten her vocal chords. In August, 1987, she was accepted on the waiting list for gender re-assignment surgery and later underwent that surgery at a National Health Service hospital.

 {“Nonetheless, the very essence of the Convention is respect for human dignity and human freedom. In the twenty first century the right of transsexuals to personal development and to physical and moral security in the full sense enjoyed by others in society cannot be regarded as a matter of controversy requiring the lapse of time to cast clearer light on the issues involved. In short, the unsatisfactory situation in which post- operative transsexuals live in an intermediate zone as not quite one gender or the other is no longer sustainable.’}

Analysis

It is incredible that now that there is a decision which makes transsexual a different sexual orientation then the paired sex anyway everything isn’t over at this point. The transsexual network despite everything has far to go. Fights are not won simply like that. A great deal of scarifies and exertion should be placed in. As per Guari Sawant who won’t be tended to as a man or a female Speaking at Hijra Habba (Transgender Amalgamation) occasion sorted out by India HIV/AIDS Alliance said that “In the event that individuals need to remember us, at that point they ought to remember us as transsexuals.” It has been a long time since the noteworthy decision, however Sawant said that “it appeared to be changing individuals’ outlooks would take longer”. “So, in the end, it depends on what we make out of it and we should remember that our preamble starts with “We the people of India.

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