REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO.400 OF 2012

National Legal Services Authority                    … Petitioner

Versus

Union of India and others                        … Respondents

WITH

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO.604 OF 2013

J U D G M E N T

K.S. Radhakrishnan, J.

1.       Seldom, our  society  realizes or cares to realize the  trauma, agony   and  pain which  the  members of Transgender community undergo, nor appreciates the innate feelings of the members of the Transgender community, especially of those whose mind and  body disown their biological sex.  Our society  often ridicules and  abuses the   Transgender  community   and   in   public   places   like   railway stations,   bus   stands,   schools,   workplaces,   malls,   theatres, hospitals,   they    are    sidelined   and    treated  as   untouchables, forgetting the fact that the moral failure lies in the society’s unwillingness to contain or embrace different gender identities and expressions, a mindset which we have  to change.

2.       We  are,  in this case, concerned with the  grievances of the members of Transgender Community  (for short ‘TG  community’) who seek a legal declaration of their gender identity than  the  one assigned to  them,  male or  female, at  the  time of birth and  their prayer   is  that   non-recognition  of  their  gender  identity  violates Articles 14  and  21  of the  Constitution of India.     Hijras/Eunuchs, who also fall in that group,  claim legal status as a third gender with all legal and constitutional protection.

3.       The  National Legal Services Authority, constituted under  the Legal  Services  Authority  Act, 1997,  to provide  free  legal  services to the  weaker and  other  marginalized sections of the  society,  has come  forward  to advocate their  cause, by filing Writ Petition  No.400   of  2012.      Poojaya   Mata   Nasib   Kaur   Ji  Women   Welfare Society,  a  registered  association,  has also  preferred  Writ  Petition No. 604 of 2013,  seeking similar reliefs in respect of Kinnar community, a TG community.

4.       Laxmi Narayan Tripathy, claimed to be  a Hijra, has also got impleaded  so   as  to   effectively  put   across  the   cause  of  the members of the transgender community and  Tripathy’s life experiences also for recognition of their identity as a third gender, over   and   above  male  and   female.       Tripathy  says  that   non- recognition of the  identity of Hijras, a  TG  community, as a  third gender,  denies them  the right of equality before the law and  equal protection  of law  guaranteed under  Article  14  of the  Constitution and  violates the  rights guaranteed to them  under  Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

5.       Shri Raju Ramachandran, learned senior counsel appearing for   the    petitioner   –   the    National   Legal   Services   Authority, highlighted the traumatic experiences faced by the members of the TG community and  submitted that every  person of that community has a legal right to decide their sex orientation and  to espouse and determine  their  identity.    Learned  senior  counsel  has submitted that since  the TGs are  neither treated as male or female, nor given the status of a third gender, they are  being deprived of many  of the rights and  privileges which other  persons enjoy as citizens of this country.   TGs are  deprived of social and  cultural participation and hence  restricted  access  to  education,  health  care   and   public places  which  deprives  them   of  the  Constitutional  guarantee  of equality  before  law  and  equal  protection  of laws.   Further,  it was also pointed out  that  the  community also faces discrimination to contest election,  right  to  vote,  employment,  to  get  licences  etc. and,  in  effect,  treated as an  outcast and  untouchable.     Learned senior counsel also submitted that  the  State cannot discriminate them  on the ground  of gender, violating Articles 14 to 16 and  21 of the Constitution of India.

6.       Shri Anand  Grover,  learned senior counsel appearing for the Intervener,  traced the  historical  background  of  the  third  gender identity in India and  the  position accorded to  them  in the  Hindu Mythology, Vedic and  Puranic literatures, and  the  prominent role played  by  them   in  the   royal  courts  of  the   Islamic  world  etc. Reference  was also  made to  the  repealed  Criminal  Tribes  Act, 1871   and   explained  the  inhuman  manner  by  which  they  were treated at  the  time of  the  British Colonial rule.   Learned senior counsel also submitted that various International Forums and  U.N. Bodies  have  recognized  their  gender identity  and  referred  to the Yogyakarta Principles and  pointed out  that  those principles have been   recognized    by    various    countries    around   the    world. Reference was also made to few legislations giving recognition to the   trans-sexual  persons  in  other   countries.       Learned  senior counsel  also  submitted  that  non-recognition  of gender identity  of the  transgender community violates the  fundamental rights guaranteed to them,  who are  citizens of this country.

7.       Shri  T. Srinivasa  Murthy,  learned  counsel  appearing  in  I.A. No.  2  of  2013,   submitted  that  transgender persons have   to  be declared as  a  socially  and   educationally  backward classes  of citizens and  must  be accorded all benefits available to that class of persons, which are  being extended to male and  female genders. Learned  counsel  also  submitted  that  the  right  to  choose one’s gender identity is integral to  the  right to  lead a  life with dignity, which  is  undoubtedly  guaranteed by Article  21 of the  Constitution of  India.    Learned  counsel,  therefore,  submitted  that,  subject  to such  rules/regulations/protocols, transgender persons may be afforded the  right of choice to determine whether to opt for male, female or transgender classification.

8.       Shri Sanjeev Bhatnagar, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner in Writ Petition No.604  of 2013,  highlighted the  cause of the   Kinnar  community  and   submitted  that   they   are   the   most deprived group  of transgenders and  calls for constitutional as well as legal protection for their identity and  for other  socio-economic benefits,  which  are   otherwise  extended  to  the  members of  the male and female genders in the community.

9.       Shri Rakesh K. Khanna, learned Additional Solicitor General, appearing for the Union of India, submitted that the problems highlighted  by  the  transgender community is  a  sensitive human issue, which calls for serious attention.  Learned ASG pointed out that, under  the aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (for short  “MOSJE”), a  Committee, called “Expert Committee   on   Issues   relating   to   Transgender”,      has  been constituted to conduct an in-depth study  of the problems relating to transgender persons  to  make   appropriate  recommendations  to MOSJE.     Shri  Khanna  also  submitted  that   due   representation would also be  given to the  applicants, appeared before this Court in the Committee, so that their views also could be heard.

10.     We also heard learned counsel appearing for various States and  Union  Territories  who  have   explained  the  steps they  have taken  to improve the  conditions and  status of the  members of TG community in their respective States and  Union Territories.   Laxmi Narayan  Tripathy,  a  Hijra,  through   a  petition  supported  by  an affidavit, highlighted the trauma undergone by Tripathy from Tripathy’s birth.    Rather than  explaining the  same by us, it would be appropriate to quote  in Tripathy’s own words:

“That the Applicant has born as a male.   Growing up as a  child,  she  felt  different  from  the  boys of her  age  and was feminine in her ways.   On account of her femininity, from   an    early   age,   she     faced   repeated   sexual harassment, molestation and  sexual abuse, both  within and  outside the  family.  Due  to her  being  different,  she was isolated and  had  no  one  to talk to or express her feelings while she  was coming to terms with her identity. She  was constantly  abused by everyone as a  ‘chakka’ and  ‘hijra’.   Though  she  felt that  there  was no place for her  in  society,   she   did  not  succumb to  the  prejudice. She  started to  dress and  appear in public in women’s clothing in her  late teens but  she  did not  identify as a woman.       Later,   she   joined  the   Hijra  community  in Mumbai  as she  identified  with  the  other  hijras  and  for the first time in her life, she  felt at home. That being a hijra, the Applicant has faced serious discrimination throughout her life because of her gender identity.    It  has  been clear   to  the  Applicant  that  the complete non-recognition of the identity of hijras/transgender persons by the  State has resulted in the    violation   of   most    of   the    fundamental   rights guaranteed to them under  the Constitution of India….”

Siddarth Narrain, eunuch, highlights Narrain’s feeling, as follows:

”Ever  since   I  can  remember, I  have   always  identified myself as a woman.  I lived in Namakkal, a small town in Tamil Nadu.   When  I was in the  10th   standard I realized that  the  only  way  for me  to be  comfortable  was to join the  hijra  community.   It was then  that  my family  found out that I frequently met hijras who lived in the city.  One day,  when  my father was away,  my brother, encouraged by my mother, started beating me  with a  cricket bat.   I locked  myself  in  a  room  to  escape from  the  beatings. My mother  and  brother  then  tried to break  into the room to beat  me up further.   Some of my relatives intervened and  brought  me  out of the  room.   I related my ordeal to an  uncle  of mine who gave  me  Rs.50  and  asked me  to go  home.   Instead, I  took  the  money  and  went  to  live with a group of hijras in Erode.”

Sachin, a TG, expressed his experiences as follows:

“My name is Sachin and  I am 23 years old.   As a child I always  enjoyed  putting  make-up  like  ‘vibhuti’  or  ‘kum kum’ and  my parents always saw me  as a  girl.     I  am male but I only have  female feelings.  I used to help my mother  in all the  housework like cooking,  washing and cleaning.    Over  the  years, I  started assuming  more  of the  domestic responsibilities at  home.  The  neighbours starting teasing me.   They would call out to me and  ask: ‘Why  don’t  you  go  out  and  work like  a  man?’   or ‘Why are  you staying at home  like a girl?’    But I liked being a girl.   I felt  shy  about  going  out  and  working.   Relatives would also mock and  scold me on this score.  Every day I  would  go  out  of the  house to  bring  water.    And  as I walked back  with the water  I would always be teased.  I felt very ashamed. I even  felt suicidal.   How could I live like that?      But my parents never  protested.  They were helpless.” We  have  been told  and  informed  of similar  life  experiences faced by various others who belong to the TG community.

11.     Transgender is generally described as an  umbrella term  for persons  whose  gender  identity,  gender  expression  or  behavior does not  conform  to  their  biological  sex. TG  may  also  takes in persons who do not identify with their sex assigned at birth, which include   Hijras/Eunuchs   who,    in   this   writ    petition,   describe themselves as “third gender” and  they do not identify as either male or  female.    Hijras  are  not  men  by virtue  of anatomy appearance and  psychologically, they are  also not women, though  they are  like women   with no  female reproduction organ   and  no  menstruation. Since Hijras do not have  reproduction capacities as either men  or women,  they  are   neither  men   nor  women   and   claim  to  be  an institutional “third gender”.   Among  Hijras, there  are  emasculated (castrated, nirvana) men,  non-emasculated men  (not castrated/akva/akka)  and   inter-sexed  persons  (hermaphrodites). TG   also   includes   persons  who   intend   to   undergo  Sex   Re- Assignment Surgery (SRS)  or have  undergone SRS  to align their biological sex with their gender identity in order  to become male or female.   They  are  generally called transsexual persons. Further, there  are  persons who  like  to cross-dress in  clothing  of opposite gender, i.e transvestites. Resultantly, the term “transgender”, in contemporary usage, has become an umbrella term that is used to describe  a wide  range of identities  and  experiences,  including  but not limited to pre-operative, post-operative and non-operative transsexual people, who strongly identify with the  gender opposite to their biological sex; male and female.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF TRANSGENDERS IN INDIA:

12.     TG   Community   comprises   of   Hijras,   eunuchs,   Kothis, Aravanis, Jogappas, Shiv-Shakthis etc.  and  they,  as a group,  have got   a   strong  historical  presence  in  our   country   in  the   Hindu mythology and  other  religious texts.     The  Concept of tritiya prakrti or napunsaka has also  been an  integral  part  of vedic  and  puranic literatures.    The   word  ‘napunsaka’    has  been  used  to  denote absence of procreative capability.

13.     Lord Rama, in the epic Ramayana, was leaving for the forest upon  being banished from the  kingdom  for 14 years, turns around to his followers and  asks all the  ‘men and  women’ to return  to the city.  Among his followers, the hijras alone do not feel bound  by this direction  and   decide  to  stay   with  him.     Impressed  with  their devotion,  Rama sanctions  them  the  power  to confer  blessings  on people  on  auspicious  occasions like  childbirth  and  marriage,  and also at inaugural functions which, it is believed set the stage for the custom of badhai in which hijras sing, dance and confer blessings.

14.     Aravan,  the  son of Arjuna and  Nagakanya in Mahabharata, offers to be  sacrificed to Goddess Kali to ensure the  victory of the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war,    the only condition that he made was to  spend the  last night of his life in matrimony.       Since no woman   was willing  to  marry  one  who  was doomed to  be  killed, Krishna assumes the  form of a beautiful woman  called Mohini and marries  him.      The  Hijras  of  Tamil  Nadu  consider Aravan  their progenitor and call themselves Aravanis.

15.     Jain  Texts  also  make   a  detailed  reference  to  TG  which mentions the  concept of ‘psychological sex’.   Hijras also played a prominent role in the royal courts of the Islamic world, especially in the Ottaman empires and  the Mughal rule in the Medieval India.   A detailed analysis of the  historical background of the  same finds a place  in  the   book   of  Gayatri  Reddy,  “With  Respect  to   Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South  India” – Yoda Press (2006).

16.     We  notice  that  even   though   historically,  Hijras/transgender persons had  played a prominent role, with the onset of colonial rule from   the    18th       century    onwards,   the    situation   had    changed drastically.     During the  British rule, a  legislation was enacted to supervise the  deeds of Hijras/TG community, called the  Criminal Tribes  Act,  1871,   which  deemed the  entire  community  of  Hijras persons as  innately  ‘criminal’  and   ‘addicted  to  the   systematic commission of non-bailable offences’.      The  Act provided for the registration, surveillance and  control of certain criminal tribes and eunuchs and  had  penalized  eunuchs, who  were  registered,  and appeared to be  dressed or ornamented like a  woman, in a  public street or place, as well as those who danced or played music  in a public place.  Such  persons also could be arrested without warrant and  sentenced to  imprisonment up  to  two  years or  fine or  both. Under  the Act, the local government had  to register the names and residence of all eunuchs residing in that  area as well as of their properties,  who   were   reasonably  suspected  of  kidnapping  or castrating children, or of committing offences under  Section 377  of the  IPC, or of abetting the  commission of any  of the  said offences. Under  the  Act,  the  act  of  keeping  a  boy  under   16  years in  the charge of a  registered  eunuch was made an  offence  punishable with imprisonment up to two years or fine and  the Act also denuded the  registered eunuchs of their civil rights by prohibiting them  from acting as guardians to minors, from making  a gift deed or a will, or from  adopting  a son.    Act has,  however, been repealed  in  August 1949.

17.     Section  377  of  the  IPC  found  a  place  in  the  Indian  Penal Code, 1860,   prior  to  the  enactment of  Criminal  Tribles  Act  that criminalized  all  penile-non-vaginal  sexual  acts between persons, including  anal  sex  and   oral  sex,  at  a  time  when   transgender persons were  also typically associated with the  prescribed sexual practices.     Reference  may   be   made  to  the   judgment  of  the Allahabad High Court in Queen Empress v. Khairati  (1884)  ILR 6 All    204,    wherein   a    transgender   person   was   arrested   and prosecuted  under   Section  377  on  the  suspicion  that  he  was a ‘habitual sodomite’ and  was later acquitted on appeal.  In that case, while acquitting him, the Sessions Judge stated as follows: “This  case relates  to  a  person  named  Khairati,  over whom  the  police seem to have  exercised some sort  of supervision, whether strictly regular or not, as a eunuch. The man  is not a eunuch in the literal sense, but he was called for by the police when  on a visit to his village, and was  found  singing  dressed as  a  woman   among  the women  of a  certain family.   Having been subjected to examination  by  the  Civil  Surgeon (and   a  subordinate medical  man),   he  is  shown   to  have   the  characteristic mark of a habitual catamite – the distortion of the orifice of the  anus into the  shape of a  trumpet  and  also to be affected  with  syphilis  in  the  same region  in  a  man which distinctly points to unnatural intercourse within the last few months.”

18.     Even  though, he  was acquitted on  appeal, this case would demonstrate  that   Section  377,   though   associated  with  specific sexual acts, highlighted certain identities, including Hijras and  was used as an  instrument of harassment and  physical abuse against Hijras and  transgender persons.    A Division Bench  of this Court in Suresh Kumar   Koushal and  another v.  Naz Foundation  and others [(2014)  1  SCC  1]  has already  spoken on  the constitutionality  of  Section  377  IPC  and,   hence, we  express no opinion  on  it  since   we  are   in  these  cases  concerned with  an altogether different issue pertaining to the  constitutional and  other legal rights of the  transgender community and  their gender identity and sexual orientation.

GENDER IDENTITY AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION

19.     Gender identity is one  of the most-fundamental aspects of life which refers to a person’s intrinsic sense of being male, female or transgender or transsexual person.   A person’s sex is usually assigned at birth, but a relatively small group  of persons may  born with bodies which incorporate both  or certain aspects of both  male and  female physiology.   At times, genital anatomy problems may arise  in  certain  persons, their  innate  perception  of themselves,  is not  in conformity with the  sex assigned to them  at  birth and  may include  pre   and   post-operative  transsexual  persons  and   also persons who  do  not  choose to undergo or do  not  have  access to operation and  also include persons who cannot undergo successful operation.     Countries,  all  over   the   world,  including  India,  are grappled with the  question of attribution of gender to persons who believe  that   they   belong  to  the   opposite  sex.    Few   persons undertake surgical and  other  procedures to alter their bodies and physical appearance to  acquire gender characteristics of the  sex which conform to their perception of gender, leading to legal and social complications since  official record  of their gender at birth is found to be  at variance with the  assumed gender identity. Gender identity refers to each person’s deeply felt internal and  individual experience  of gender, which  may  or may  not  correspond with  the sex assigned at  birth,  including  the  personal  sense of  the  body which   may    involve   a   freely   chosen,   modification   of   bodily appearance or functions by medical, surgical or other  means and other  expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms.  Gender identity,  therefore,  refers  to  an  individual’s self-identification as a man,  woman, transgender or other  identified category.

20.     Sexual orientation refers to an individual’s enduring physical, romantic and/or   emotional attraction to  another person.   Sexual orientation  includes  transgender and  gender-variant  people  with heavy  sexual  orientation  and  their  sexual  orientation  may  or may not   change  during  or   after  gender  transmission,  which   also includes homo-sexuals, bysexuals, heterosexuals, asexual etc. Gender identity and  sexual orientation, as already indicated, are different concepts.   Each  person’s self-defined sexual orientation and  gender identity is integral to their personality and  is one  of the most  basic  aspects of self-determination, dignity and  freedom and no  one  shall be  forced to undergo medical procedures, including SRS,  sterilization  or hormonal  therapy, as a requirement  for legal recognition of their gender identity.

UNITED NATIONS AND OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES – ON GENDER IDENTITY AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION

21.   United Nations has been instrumental in advocating the protection and  promotion of rights of sexual minorities, including transgender persons.     Article  6  of the  Universal  Declaration  of

Human  Rights,  1948  and  Article  16  of the  International  Covenant on  Civil and  Political Rights, 1966  (ICCPR) recognize that  every human being has the  inherent right to live and  this right shall be protected by law and  that  no one  shall be  arbitrarily denied of that right.  Everyone shall have  a right to recognition, everywhere as a person before the law.   Article 17 of the ICCPR states that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy,  family,  home  or correspondence, nor  to unlawful  attacks on  his honour  and  reputation and  that  everyone has the  right to protection of law against such  interference or attacks. International Commission  of  Jurists  and  the  International  Service for  Human Rights on behalf of a coalition of human rights organizations, took a  project to develop a  set of international legal principles on  the application of international law to human rights violations based on sexual orientation and  sexual identity to bring greater clarity and coherence to State’s human rights obligations.     A distinguished group  of human rights experts has drafted, developed, discussed and reformed the principles in a meeting held at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from 6 to 9 November, 2006, which is unanimously adopted the  Yogyakarta Principles on  the application of International Human  Rights Law in relation to Sexual  Orientation and  Gender Identity.   Yogyakarta Principles address a broad   range of  human rights  standards and  their  application  to issues of sexual orientation gender identity.     Reference to  few Yogyakarta Principles would be useful.

YOGYAKARTA PRINCIPLES:

22.     Principle   1   which   deals   with   the   right   to   the   universal enjoyment of human rights, reads as follows :-

“1.     THE RIGHT TO THE UNIVERSAL ENJOYMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

All human beings are  born  free and  equal in dignity and rights.  Human   beings  of  all  sexual  orientations  and gender identities are  entitled to the  full enjoyment of all human rights.

States shall:

A.     Embody  the principles of the universality, interrelatedness, interdependence and  indivisibility of all human rights in their national constitutions or other    appropriate   legislation   and    ensure   the practical  realisation  of the  universal  enjoyment  of all human rights;

B.      Amend  any  legislation,  including  criminal  law,  to ensure  its  consistency  with  the  universal enjoyment of all human rights;

C.      Undertake    programmes     of     education     and awareness to promote and  enhance the full enjoyment of all human rights by all persons, irrespective   of    sexual   orientation   or    gender identity;

D.      Integrate within State policy and decision-making a pluralistic  approach  that   recognises  and   affirms the  interrelatedness and  indivisibility of all aspects of human identity including sexual orientation and gender identity.

2.   THE RIGHTS TO EQUALITY AND NON- DISCRIMINATION

Everyone is  entitled  to  enjoy  all  human rights  without discrimination  on   the   basis  of  sexual  orientation  or gender identity.  Everyone is  entitled  to  equality  before the  law and  the  equal protection of the  law without any such   discrimination  whether  or  not  the   enjoyment  of another  human  right  is  also  affected.  The   law  shall prohibit  any  such   discrimination  and   guarantee  to  all persons equal and  effective protection against any such discrimination.

Discrimination  on   the   basis  of  sexual  orientation  or gender identity includes any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on  sexual orientation or gender identity which has the purpose or effect of nullifying  or  impairing  equality  before  the   law  or  the equal   protection   of   the    law,   or    the    recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an  equal basis, of all human rights and  fundamental freedoms. Discrimination based on  sexual  orientation  or  gender identity  may  be,  and commonly is, compounded by discrimination on other grounds including gender, race, age, religion, disability, health and economic status.

States shall:

A. Embody     the     principles    of    equality    and     non- discrimination on  the  basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation, if not yet incorporated therein, including by means of amendment and  interpretation, and  ensure the  effective  realisation  of  these principles;

B. Repeal   criminal   and    other    legal   provisions   that prohibit   or   are,    in   effect,   employed   to   prohibit consensual sexual activity among people of the same sex who are  over the age  of consent, and  ensure that an  equal  age   of consent applies  to  both  same-sex and different- sex sexual activity;

C. Adopt  appropriate legislative and  other  measures to prohibit and  eliminate discrimination in the public and private spheres on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity;

D. Take    appropriate   measures  to   secure  adequate advancement  of  persons  of  diverse  sexual orientations   and    gender   identities   as   may    be necessary to ensure such groups or individuals equal enjoyment   or   exercise  of   human  rights.      Such measures shall not be deemed to be discriminatory;

E. In all  their  responses to discrimination  on  the  basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, take  account of  the   manner  in  which  such   discrimination  may intersect with other  forms of discrimination;

F. Take  all appropriate action, including programmes of education and  training, with a  view to achieving the elimination of prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes or behaviours  which  are   related  to  the   idea  of  the inferiority  or the  superiority  of any  sexual  orientation or gender identity or gender expression.

3.      THE RIGHT  TO  RECOGNITION  BEFORE  THE LAW

Everyone has the  right  to recognition  everywhere as a person before the law. Persons of diverse sexual orientations   and   gender  identities   shall   enjoy   legal capacity in all aspects of life. Each  person’s self-defined sexual orientation and  gender identity is integral to their personality and  is one  of the most  basic  aspects of self- determination,  dignity  and   freedom.  No  one   shall  be forced  to  undergo  medical  procedures,  including  sex reassignment surgery, sterilisation or hormonal therapy, as a  requirement  for  legal  recognition  of  their  gender identity.  No  status,  such   as marriage  or  parenthood, may be invoked as such  to prevent the legal recognition of a person’s gender identity. No one  shall be subjected to  pressure to  conceal, suppress or  deny  their sexual orientation or gender identity

 

States shall:

 

 

A. Ensure that all persons are  accorded legal capacity in civil  matters, without  discrimination  on  the  basis of sexual orientation or  gender identity, and  the opportunity to exercise that  capacity, including equal rights to conclude contracts, and  to administer, own, acquire   (including   through    inheritance),   manage, enjoy and dispose of property;

 

 

B. Take   all  necessary  legislative,  administrative  and other  measures to fully respect and  legally recognise each person’s self-defined gender identity;

 

 

C. Take   all  necessary  legislative,  administrative  and other   measures  to   ensure  that   procedures  exist whereby   all   State-issued   identity   papers   which indicate a person’s gender/sex — including birth certificates, passports, electoral records and other documents  —  reflect  the   person’s  profound  self- defined gender identity;

 

 

D. Ensure that  such   procedures are  efficient,  fair  and non-discriminatory,   and    respect   the    dignity   and privacy of the person concerned;

 

 

E. Ensure that  changes to  identity  documents will  be recognised in all contexts where  the  identification or disaggregation  of persons by  gender is  required  by law or policy;

 

 

F. Undertake  targeted  programmes  to  provide  social support for all persons experiencing gender transitioning or reassignment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.      THE RIGHT TO LIFE

 

 

Everyone has the right to life. No one  shall be arbitrarily deprived of life, including by reference to considerations of  sexual  orientation  or   gender  identity.  The   death penalty shall not be imposed on any person on the basis of consensual sexual activity among persons who  are over   the   age   of  consent  or  on  the   basis  of  sexual orientation or gender identity.

 

 

States shall:

 

 

A. Repeal all forms of crime that  have  the  purpose or effect of prohibiting consensual sexual activity among persons of the  same sex who  are  over  the  age   of consent  and,   until  such   provisions  are   repealed, never    impose  the   death  penalty  on   any   person convicted under  them;

 

 

B. Remit  sentences  of  death  and   release  all  those currently awaiting execution for crimes relating to consensual sexual activity among persons who  are over the age  of consent;

 

 

C.  Cease  any   State-sponsored  or   State-condoned attacks on the lives of persons based on sexual orientation  or  gender  identity,  and   ensure  that   all such  attacks, whether by government officials  or by any  individual or  group,  are  vigorously  investigated, and  that,  where  appropriate evidence is found, those responsible are  prosecuted, tried and duly punished.

 

 

6.      THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY

 

 

Everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, is entitled to  the  enjoyment of privacy without arbitrary  or  unlawful  interference,  including  with  regard to  their  family,  home  or  correspondence as well  as to protection from unlawful attacks on their honour  and reputation. The right to privacy ordinarily includes the choice to disclose or not to disclose information relating

 

 

 

 

to one’s sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as decisions and  choices  regarding  both  one’s  own  body and consensual sexual and other  relations with others.

 

 

States shall:

 

 

A. Take   all  necessary  legislative,  administrative  and other  measures to ensure the  right of each person, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, to enjoy  the   private  sphere,  intimate  decisions,  and human relations, including consensual sexual activity among persons  who  are   over  the  age   of  consent, without arbitrary interference;

 

 

B. Repeal  all  laws  that  criminalise  consensual  sexual activity among persons of the same sex who are  over the  age  of consent, and  ensure that  an  equal age  of consent applies to  both  same-sex and  different-sex sexual activity;

 

 

C. Ensure  that   criminal  and   other   legal  provisions  of general application are  not applied to de facto criminalise consensual sexual activity among persons of the same sex who are  over the age  of consent;

 

 

D. Repeal  any   law  that   prohibits  or  criminalises  the expression   of   gender  identity,   including   through dress, speech or mannerisms, or that denies to individuals  the  opportunity  to change their  bodies  as a means of expressing their gender identity;

 

 

E. Release all those held on remand or on the basis of a criminal conviction, if their detention is related to consensual sexual activity among persons who  are over   the   age   of  consent,  or  is  related  to  gender identity;

 

 

F. Ensure the  right of all persons ordinarily to  choose when,   to  whom   and   how   to  disclose  information pertaining   to   their   sexual   orientation   or   gender identity, and  protect  all persons from arbitrary or unwanted disclosure,  or threat  of disclosure  of such

 

 

 

 

information by others

 

 

9.      THE RIGHT TO TREATMENT  WITH HUMANITY WHILE IN DETENTION

 

 

Everyone  deprived   of   liberty   shall   be   treated  with humanity and  with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. Sexual  orientation  and  gender identity are integral to each person’s dignity.

 

 

 

States shall:

 

 

A. Ensure  that   placement  in  detention  avoids  further marginalising persons on  the  basis of sexual orientation or  gender identity or  subjecting  them  to risk of violence, ill-treatment or physical, mental or sexual abuse;

 

 

B. Provide    adequate  access   to   medical   care    and counselling  appropriate  to  the   needs  of  those  in custody, recognising any  particular needs of persons on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, including with regard to reproductive health, access  to  HIV/AIDS  information  and   therapy  and access to  hormonal  or  other  therapy as well  as to gender-reassignment treatments where  desired;

 

 

C. Ensure,  to  the   extent   possible,  that   all  prisoners participate   in   decisions   regarding   the    place   of detention appropriate to their sexual orientation and gender identity;

 

 

D. Put  protective  measures  in  place  for  all  prisoners vulnerable to violence or abuse on the  basis of their sexual  orientation,  gender identity  or  gender expression and  ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that such  protective measures involve no greater restriction  of their  rights  than  is  experienced by the general prison population;

 

 

E. Ensure  that   conjugal   visits,   where   permitted,   are

 

 

 

 

granted  on   an   equal   basis  to   all   prisoners   and detainees, regardless of the gender of their partner;

 

 

F. Provide  for the  independent monitoring of detention facilities by the State as well as by non-governmental organisations including organisations working  in the spheres of sexual orientation and gender identity;

 

 

G. Undertake programmes  of  training  and  awareness- raising  for prison  personnel  and  all  other  officials  in the  public  and   private  sector  who  are   engaged in detention   facilities,   regarding   international   human rights standards and  principles of equality and  non- discrimination,  including  in  relation  to  sexual orientation and gender identity.

 

 

18.    PROTECTION FROM MEDICAL ABUSES

 

 

No  person  may   be   forced  to  undergo  any   form  of medical  or  psychological  treatment, procedure, testing, or  be  confined  to  a  medical  facility,  based on  sexual orientation or gender identity. Notwithstanding any classifications to the  contrary,  a  person’s sexual orientation   and   gender  identity   are   not,   in   and   of themselves,   medical   conditions   and   are   not   to   be treated, cured  or suppressed.

 

 

States shall:

 

 

A. Take   all  necessary  legislative,  administrative  and other   measures  to   ensure  full   protection  against harmful  medical  practices  based  on  sexual orientation  or gender identity,  including  on  the  basis of stereotypes, whether derived from culture or otherwise, regarding conduct, physical appearance or perceived gender norms;

 

 

B. Take   all  necessary  legislative,  administrative  and other  measures to ensure that no child’s body is irreversibly  altered   by   medical  procedures  in  an attempt to impose a  gender identity without the  full, free and  informed consent of the  child in accordance

 

 

 

 

with  the  age  and  maturity of the  child and  guided by the  principle  that  in  all  actions  concerning  children, the best  interests of the child shall be a primary consideration;

 

 

C. Establish  child  protection  mechanisms  whereby no child is at risk of, or subjected to, medical abuse;

 

 

D. Ensure  protection   of   persons  of   diverse   sexual orientations and  gender identities against unethical or involuntary medical procedures or research, including in relation to vaccines, treatments or microbicides for HIV/AIDS or other  diseases;

 

 

E. Review  and  amend any  health funding provisions or programmes, including those of a development- assistance nature, which may promote, facilitate or in any other  way render possible such  abuses;

 

 

F. Ensure that  any  medical  or  psychological  treatment or  counselling does not,  explicitly or  implicitly, treat sexual orientation and  gender identity as medical conditions to be treated, cured  or suppressed.

 

 

19.    THE RIGHT  TO FREEDOM OF  OPINION  AND EXPRESSION

 

 

Everyone has  the   right  to   freedom  of  opinion  and expression, regardless of sexual orientation or  gender identity. This includes the expression of identity or personhood through  speech, deportment, dress, bodily characteristics, choice of name, or any  other  means, as well as the freedom to seek, receive and  impart information and  ideas of all  kinds,  including with  regard to human rights, sexual orientation and  gender identity, through  any medium and regardless of frontiers.

 

 

States shall:

 

 

A. Take   all  necessary  legislative,  administrative  and other  measures to ensure full enjoyment  of freedom of opinion and  expression, while respecting the rights

 

 

 

 

and  freedoms of others, without discrimination on the basis   of   sexual   orientation   or   gender   identity, including the receipt and  imparting of information and ideas concerning sexual orientation and  gender identity, as well as related advocacy for legal rights, publication of materials, broadcasting, organisation of or participation in conferences, and  dissemination of and access to safer-sex information;

 

 

B.  Ensure  that   the   outputs  and   the   organisation  of media that  is State-regulated is pluralistic and  non- discriminatory  in  respect of  issues  of  sexual orientation and  gender identity and  that the personnel recruitment  and  promotion  policies  of  such organisations are  non-discriminatory on  the  basis of sexual orientation or gender identity;

 

 

C.  Take   all  necessary legislative,  administrative  and other  measures to  ensure the  full  enjoyment of the right to express identity or personhood, including through  speech, deportment, dress, bodily characteristics, choice of name or any other  means;

 

 

D. Ensure that  notions of public order,  public morality, public health and  public security are  not employed to restrict, in a  discriminatory manner, any  exercise of freedom   of   opinion   and    expression  that   affirms diverse sexual orientations or gender identities;

 

 

E. Ensure that  the  exercise of freedom of opinion and expression does not  violate  the  rights  and  freedoms of persons of diverse sexual orientations and  gender identities;

 

 

F. Ensure   that    all   persons,   regardless   of   sexual orientation or gender identity, enjoy equal access to information and  ideas, as well as to  participation in public debate.”

 

 

 

 

23.     UN bodies, Regional Human  Rights Bodies, National Courts, Government  Commissions   and    the   Commissions   for   Human Rights,  Council  of  Europe,  etc.   have   endorsed the  Yogyakarta Principles  and   have   considered  them   as an   important  tool  for identifying the obligations of States to respect, protect  and  fulfill the human rights of  all persons, regardless of  their  gender identity. United  Nations  Committee  on   Economic,  Social  and   Cultural Rights  in  its  Report   of  2009   speaks of  gender orientation  and gender identity as follows:-

“Sexual orientation and gender identity

‘Other status’  as recognized in article 2, paragraph 2, includes   sexual   orientation.     States  parties   should

ensure  that   a  person’s  sexual  orientation  is  not  a barrier  to  realizing  Covenant rights,  for  example,  in

accessing  survivor’s   pension  rights.      In   addition, gender identity is recognized as among the prohibited

grounds of discrimination,  for example,  persons who are  transgender,  transsexual  or  intersex,  often  face

serious  human rights  violations,  such  as harassment in schools or in the workplace.”

 

 

 

24.     In this respect, reference may  also be  made to the  General Comment No.2  of the  Committee on  Torture  and  Article 2 of the Convention   against   Torture    and    Other    Cruel,   Inhuman   or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2008  and  also the General Comment No.20 of the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against   Woman,   responsible   for   the    implementation   of   the

 

 

 

 

Convention   on   the   Elimination   of   All  Forms  of  Discrimination against Woman, 1979 and 2010 report.

 

 

SRS and Foreign Judgments

 

 

 

25.     Various  countries  have    given  recognition  to   the   gender identity  of  such   persons,  mostly,  in  cases  where   transsexual persons started asserting their rights after undergoing SRS  of their re-assigned sex.     In Corbett v.  Corbett (1970)  2 All ER 33,  the Court  in  England  was concerned with  the  gender of  a  male  to female  transsexual  in  the  context   of  the  validity  of  a  marriage. Ormrod,  J. in that case took the view 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.  Later,  in  R v. Tan  (1983)   QB  1053,   1063-1064,  the  Court  of  Appeal  applied Corbett approach in the context  of criminal law.   The Court upheld

 

 

 

 

convictions  which  were   imposed  on   Gloria  Greaves,  a   post- operative male to female transsexual, still being in law, a man.

 

 

26.     Corbett  principle  was  not  found  favour  by  various  other countries, like New Zealand, Australia etc.  and  also attracted much criticism,   from   the   medical   profession.      It   was  felt   that   the application  of  the  Corbett  approach would  lead  to  a  substantial different  outcome in  cases of a post  operative  inter-sexual  person and   a  post   operative  transsexual  person.     In  New  Zealand  in Attorney-General v.  Otahuhu Family  Court  (1995)  1 NZLR 603, Justice Ellis noted  that  once  a transsexual person has undergone surgery, he or she  is no longer able to operate in his or her original sex.  It was held that there  is no social advantage in the law for not recognizing the  validity of the  marriage of a transsexual in the  sex of reassignment.   The Court held that an adequate test  is whether the   person  in  question  has  undergone  surgical  and   medical procedures that have  effectively given the person the physical conformation of a person of a specified sex.  In Re Kevin (Validity of   Marriage    of   Transsexual)   (2001)    Fam   CA   1074,    in   an Australian  case,  Chisholm  J.,   held  that   there   is  no   ‘formulaic solution’ to determine the sex of an individual for the purpose of the law  of marriage.   It was held  that  all  relevant  matters need to be

 

 

 

 

considered, including the person’s life experiences and self- perception.      Full  Court  of the  Federal  Family  Court  in  the  year

2003  approved the  above-mentioned judgment holding that  in the relevant  Commonwealth  marriage  statute  the   words  ‘man’  and

‘woman’ should be given their ordinary, everyday contemporary meaning and  that  the  word ‘man’ includes a post  operative female to  male  transsexual  person.   The  Full  Court  also  held  that  there was a  biological basis for transsexualism and  that  there  was no reason to  exclude the  psyche as one  of  the  relevant  factors  in determining sex and  gender.  The judgment Attorney-General for the  Commonwealth & “Kevin and  Jennifer” & Human  Rights and  Equal  Opportunity Commission is  reported in  (2003)  Fam CA 94.

 

 

27.   Lockhart,  J. in Secretary, Department of Social Security v. “SRA”,    (1993)  43  FCR  299  and  Mathews, J.  in R v.  Harris & McGuiness (1988)  17 NSWLR 158, made an exhaustive review of the  various decisions with regard to the  question of recognition to be  accorded by Courts to the  gender of a transsexual person who had  undertaken a  surgical procedure.     The  Courts generally in New Zealand held that  the  decision in Corbett v. Corbett (supra) and  R v. Tan (supra) which applied a purely biological test,  should

 

 

 

 

not  be  followed.   In fact, Lockhart.  J.  in SRA  observed that  the development  in  surgical  and   medical  techniques  in  the  field  of sexual reassignment, together with indications of changing social attitudes towards transsexuals, would indicate that  generally they should not be regarded merely as a matter  of chromosomes, which is  purely  a  psychological  question,  one   of  self-perception,  and partly a social question, how society perceives the individual.

 

 

28.     A.B.   v.  Western  Australia  (2011)   HCA  42  was  a  case concerned with the Gender Reassignment Act, 2000.   In that Act, a person who had  undergone a reassignment procedure could apply to Gender Reassignment Board for the issue of a recognition certificate.      Under   Section  15  of  that  Act,  before  issuing  the certificate,  the   Board   had   to  be   satisfied,  inter  alia,  that   the applicant  believed  his  or   her   true   gender  was  the   person’s reassigned gender and had adopted the lifestyle and gender characteristics  of  that  gender.   Majority  of  Judges agreed with Lockhart,  J. in SRA   that gender should not be regarded merely as a matter  of chromosomes, but partly a psychological question, one of  self-perception,  and   partly  a   social  question,  how   society perceives the individual.

 

 

 

 

29.   The House of Lords in Bellinger v. Bellinger (2003)  2 All ER

 

 

593  was dealing with the  question of a transsexual.  In that  case, Mrs. Bellinger was born on 7th  September, 1946.   At birth, she  was correctly  classified  and   registered  as male.    However,  she   felt more  inclined to be  a female.  Despite her  inclinations, and  under some pressure, in 1967  she  married a woman  and  at that time she was 21 years old.   Marriage broke  down  and  parties separated in

1971  and  got divorce in the year  1975.   Mrs. Bellinger dressed and lived  like  a  woman  and  when  she  married  Mr. Bellinger,  he  was fully aware of her background and  throughout had  been supportive to  her.    Mr. and  Mrs.  Bellinger  since   marriage  lived  happily  as husband and  wife and  presented themselves in that fashion to the outside world.  Mrs. Bellinger’s primary claim was for a declaration under  Section 55 of the Family Law Act, 1986  that her marriage to Mr. Bellinger in 1981  was “at its inception valid marriage”.   The House of Lords rejected the claim and dismissed the appeal. Certainly, the “psychological factor” has not been given much prominence in determination of the claim of Mrs. Bellinger.

 

 

30.   The  High Court  of Kuala Lumpur  in Re  JG,  JG v.  Pengarah Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (2006)  1 MLJ  90,  was considering the  question  as to  whether an  application  to  amend or  correct

 

 

 

 

gender status stated in  National  Registration  Identity  Card  could be  allowed after a  person has undergone SRS.     It  was a  case where  the plaintiff was born as a male, but felt more  inclined to be a  woman.   In 1996  at  Hospital Siroros she  underwent a  gender reassignment and  got the  surgery done  for changing the  sex from male to female and  then  she  lived like a woman.  She  applied to authorities to change her  name and  also for a  declaration of her gender as female, but her  request was not favourably considered, but  still treated as a  male.     She  sought a  declaration from the Court  that  she  be  declared as a female  and  that  the  Registration Department be directed to change the last digit of her identity card to  a  digit  that  reflects  a  female  gender.   The  Malaysian  Court basically  applied  the   principle  laid  down   in  Corbett  (supra), however, both  the  prayers sought for were  granted, after noticing that the medical men  have  spoken that the plaintiff is a female and they have  considered the sex change of the plaintiff as well as her “psychological aspect”.     The  Court  noticed that  she feels like a woman, lives  like  one,   behaves as one,   has her  physical  body attuned  to  one,   and   most   important  of  all,  her   “psychological thinking” is that of a woman.

 

 

 

 

31.     The  Court  of Appeal, New South  Wales was called upon  to decide the  question whether the  Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages has the  power  under  the  Births, Deaths and  Marriages Act,  1995  to  register a  change of sex of a  person and  the  sex recorded on  the  register to “non-specific” or “non-specified”.   The appeal  was  allowed  and   the   matter   was  remitted  back   to  the Tribunal  for  a  fresh  consideration  in  accordance with  law,  after laying down  the  law on the  subject.  The  judgment is reported as Norrie   v.   NSW   Registrar  of  Births,  Deaths  and   Marriages (2013)  NSWCA 145.   While disposing of the appeal, the Court held as follows:-

“The consequence is that  the  Appeal Panel (and  the Tribunal and the Registrar) were  in error in construing the  power  in S.32DC(1) as limiting the  Registrar to registering a person’s change of sex as only male or female.   An  error in the  construction of the  statutory provision   granting  the  power   to  register  a  person’s change  of  sex  is  an  error  on  a  question  of  law. Collector of  Customs v.  Pozzolanic Enterprises Pty. Ltd. [1993] FCA 322; (1993)  43 FCR 280 at 287.   This is so notwithstanding that the determination of the common understanding of a general word used in the statutory  provision  is a question of fact.   The  Appeal Panel (and  the  Tribunal and  the  Registrar) erred  in determining that  the  current  ordinary meaning of the word  “sex” is limited to the  character  of being either male or female. That  involved an error on a question of fact.   But the Appeal Panel’s error in arriving at the common understanding of the  word  “sex” was associated with its error in construction of the effect  of the   statutory    provision    of   S.32DC   (and   also   of

 

 

 

 

S.32DA), and  accordingly  is of law:  Hope  v. Bathurst

City Council [1980] HCA 16, (1980) 144 CLR 1 at 10.”

 

32.    In 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.  The applicant  later  divorced  her  former  wife.    She   claimed  between

1990  and  1992  she  was sexually harassed by colleagues at work,

 

 

 

 

followed by other  human rights violations.  The Court after referring to various provisions and Conventions held as follows:-

“Nonetheless, the  very  essence of the  Convention is respect for human dignity and  human freedom. Under Article  8  of  the  Convention  in  particular,  where   the notion of personal autonomy is an  important principle underlying  the  interpretation  of  its  guarantees, protection is given to the personal sphere of each individuals,  including  the  right  to  establish  details  of their  identity  as individual  human beings  (see, inter alia,   Pretty    v.    the    United   Kingdom   no.2346/02, judgment of 29 April 2002,  62,  and  Mikulic v. Croatia, no.53176/99, judgment of 7 February 2002,  53, both to be  published  in  ECHR  2002…).     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.”

 

 

33.    The  European Court  of Human   Rights  in  the  case of  Van

 

 

Kuck   v.  Germany (Application  No.35968/97  –  Judgment dated

 

 

12.9.2003) dealt with the  application alleging that  German Court’s decisions  refusing  the   applicant’s  claim  for  reimbursement  of gender reassignment measures and  the  related proceedings were in breach of her  rights to a fair trial and  of her  right to respect for her  private life and  that  they  amounted to  discrimination on  the ground   of her  particular  “psychological  situation”.    Reliance  was

 

 

 

 

placed on Articles 6, 8, 13 and  14 of the Convention for Protection of Human  Rights and  Fundamental Freedoms, 1997.    The  Court held that the concept of “private life” covers the physical and psychological integrity of a person, which can  sometimes embrace aspects  of  an   individual’s  physical  and   social  identity.     For example, gender identifications, name and  sexual orientation and sexual  life  fall  within  the  personal  sphere protected by  Article  8. The  Court  also  held  that  the  notion  of  personal  identity  is  an important   principle   underlying   the    interpretation   of   various guaranteed rights and  the  very  essence of the  Convention being respect for human dignity and  human freedom, protection is given to  the   right  of  transsexuals  to  personal  development  and   to physical and moral security.

 

 

34.          Judgments  referred   to   above  are    mainly   related   to transsexuals, who, whilst belonging physically to one  sex, feel convinced that  they  belong to the  other,  seek to achieve a  more integrated   unambiguous   identity   by   undergoing   medical   and surgical  operations to  adapt their physical  characteristic to  their psychological nature.  When  we examine the  rights of transsexual persons, who  have  undergone SRS,  the  test  to be  applied  is  not the    “Biological    test”,    but   the    “Psychological    test”,    because

 

 

 

 

psychological factor and  thinking of transsexual has to  be  given primacy  than   binary  notion  of  gender of  that  person.   Seldom people realize the  discomfort, distress and  psychological trauma, they   undergo  and   many   of  them   undergo  “Gender  Dysphoria’ which may  lead to mental disorder.     Discrimination faced by this group  in our society,  is rather  unimaginable and  their rights have  to be  protected, irrespective of chromosomal sex, genitals, assigned birth sex, or implied gender role.  Rights of transgenders, pure  and simple,  like  Hijras,  eunuchs, etc.  have   also  to  be  examined,  so also their right to remain as a third gender as well as their physical and   psychological  integrity.      Before  addressing those  aspects further,  we  may  also  refer  to  few  legislations  enacted in  other countries recognizing their rights.

 

 

LEGISLATIONS IN OTHER COUNTRIES ON TGs

 

 

 

35.    We  notice,  following  the  trend,   in  the  international  human rights  law,  many   countries  have   enacted  laws  for  recognizing rights of transsexual persons, who have  undergone either partial/complete SRS,  including United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Canada, Argentina, etc.   United Kingdom has passed the  General  Recommendation  Act,  2004,   following  the

 

 

 

 

judgment in   Christine Goodwin (supra) passed by the European Courts of Human  Rights.    The Act is all encompassing as not only does  it  provide  legal  recognition  to  the   acquired  gender  of  a person, but  it  also lays down  provisions highlighting the consequences of the  newly acquired gender status on  their legal rights and  entitlements in various aspects such  as marriage, parentage, succession, social security and  pensions etc.     One  of the  notable features of the  Act is that  it  is not  necessary that  a person needs to have  undergone or in the  process of undergoing a SRS  to apply under  the  Act.   Reference in this connection may be  made to the  Equality Act, 2010  (UK) which has consolidated, repealed and replaced around nine different anti-discrimination legislations including the  Sex  Discrimination Act, 1986.     The  Act defines certain characteristics to be “protected characteristics” and no   one   shall  be   discriminated  or  treated  less  favourably  on grounds that  the  person possesses one  or more  of the  “protected characteristics”.  The  Act also imposes duties on Public Bodies to eliminate all kinds of discrimination, harassment and  victimization. Gender reassignment has been declared as one  of the  protected characteristics under  the  Act, of course, only the  transsexuals i.e. those  who   are   proposing  to   undergo,  is   undergoing   or   has

 

 

 

 

undergone the  process of the  gender reassignment are  protected under  the Act.

 

 

36.     In  Australia,  there   are   two  Acts  dealing  with  the   gender identity,  (1)  Sex  Discrimination  Act,  1984;  and  (ii)  Sex Discrimination  Amendment  (Sexual  Orientation,  Gender Identity and  Intersex Status) Act, 2013  (Act 2013).   Act 2013  amends the Sex  Discrimination Act, 1984.    Act 2013  defines gender identity as the  appearance or  mannerisms  or  other  gender-related characteristics of a person (whether by way of medical intervention or  not)  with or  without regard to  the  person’s designated sex at birth.

Sections  5(A),  (B)  and   (C)  of  the   2013   Act  have   some relevance and the same are  extracted hereinbelow:-

“5A   Discrimination  on  the  ground  of  sexual orientation

 

 

(1)  For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator)  discriminates  against  another  person (the  aggrieved person) on the  ground  of the  aggrieved person’s sexual orientation if, by reason of:

 

 

(a)     the aggrieved person’s sexual orientation; or

(b)     a    characteristic    that    appertains    generally    to persons who have  the  same sexual orientation as

the aggrieved person; or

(c)     a   characteristic    that    is    generally    imputed    to persons who have  the  same sexual orientation as

the aggrieved person;

 

 

 

 

 

 

the discriminator treats the aggrieved person less favourably  than,  in  circumstances that  are  the  same or are  not  materially  different,  the  discriminator  treats or would   treat    a   person  who   has  a   different   sexual orientation.

 

 

(2)  For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator)  discriminates  against  another  person (the  aggrieved person) on the  ground  of the  aggrieved person’s sexual orientation if the  discriminator imposes, or  proposes  to  impose,  a   condition,  requirement  or practice that has,  or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging persons who have  the same sexual orientation as the aggrieved person.

 

 

(3)   This  section  has effect  subject  to  sections 7B  and

7D.

 

5B  Discrimination on the ground of gender identity

 

 

(1)  For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator)  discriminates  against  another  person (the  aggrieved person) on the  ground  of the  aggrieved person’s gender identity if, by reason of:

(a)     the aggrieved person’s gender identity; or

(b)     a    characteristic    that    appertains    generally    to persons who have  the same gender identity as the

aggrieved person; or

(c)     a   characteristic    that    is    generally    imputed    to persons who have  the same gender identity as the

aggrieved person;

 

 

the discriminator treats the aggrieved person less favourably  than,  in  circumstances that  are  the  same or are  not  materially  different,  the  discriminator  treats or would treat  a person who has a different gender identity.

 

 

(2)  For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator)  discriminates  against  another  person (the  aggrieved person) on the  ground  of the  aggrieved person’s gender identity if the  discriminator imposes, or

 

 

 

 

proposes to impose, a condition, requirement or practice that has,  or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging persons  who  have   the   same  gender identity  as the aggrieved person.

 

 

(3)   This  section  has effect  subject  to  sections 7B  and

7D.

 

5C  Discrimination on the ground of intersex status

 

 

(1)  For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator)  discriminates  against  another  person (the  aggrieved person) on the  ground  of the  aggrieved person’s intersex status if, by reason of:

(a)     the aggrieved person’s intersex status; or

 

 

(b)     a    characteristic    that    appertains    generally    to persons of intersex status; or

 

 

(c)     a   characteristic    that    is    generally    imputed    to persons of intersex status;

 

 

the discriminator treats the aggrieved person less favourably  than,  in  circumstances that  are  the  same or are  not  materially  different,  the  discriminator  treats or would treat  a person who is not of intersex status.

 

 

(2)  For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator)  discriminates  against  another  person (the  aggrieved person) on the  ground  of the  aggrieved person’s intersex status if the  discriminator imposes, or proposes to impose, a condition, requirement or practice that has,  or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging persons of intersex status.

 

 

(3)   This  section  has effect  subject  to  sections 7B  and

7D.”

Various  other  precautions  have   also  been provided   under

 

 

the Act.

 

 

 

 

37.    We  may  in  this  respect also  refer  to  the  European Union Legislations on  transsexuals.     Recital 3 of the  Preamble to the Directive 2006/54/EC of European Parliament and  the Council of 5

July 2006  makes an  explicit reference to discrimination based on gender reassignment for  the  first  time  in  European Union  Law. Recital 3 reads as under  :-

“The Court  of Justice has held that  the  scope of the principle of equal treatment for men  and  women  cannot be confined to the prohibition of discrimination based on the fact that a person is of one  or other  sex.  In view of this purpose and  the  nature of the rights which it seeks to  safeguard,  it  also  applies  to  discrimination  arising from the gender reassignment of a person.”

 

 

 

38.     European Parliament also adopted a  resolution on discrimination against transsexuals on  12th   September, 1989  and called upon  the  Member  States to take  steps for the  protection of transsexual  persons and  to  pass legislation  to  further  that  end. Following  that  Hungary   has   enacted Equal  Treatment and  the Promotion of Equal Opportunities Act, 2003,  which includes sexual identity  as one  of the  grounds of discrimination.     2010  paper on

‘Transgender Persons’ Rights in the  EU Member  States prepared by the  Policy  Department of the  European Parliament    presents the  specific  situation  of transgender people  in  27  Member  States of the  European Union.   In the  United States of America some of

 

 

 

 

the  laws  enacted by the  States are  inconsistent  with  each other. The Federal Law which provides protection to transgenders is The Matthew  Shepard and  James Byrd.  Jr. Hate  Crimes  Prevention Act,  2009,  which expands the  scope of the  1969  United States Federal Hate-crime Law by including offences  motivated by actual or  perceived gender identity.     Around  15  States and  District of Colombia  in  the  United  States have   legislations  which  prohibit discrimination on grounds of gender identity and  expression.  Few States have  issued executive orders prohibiting discrimination.

 

 

39.    The  Parliament  of  South   Africa  in  the  year  2003,  enacted Alteration  of  Sex  Description  and  Sex  Status Act,  2003,   which permits transgender persons who have  undergone gender reassignment   or   people   whose   sexual   characteristics   have evolved naturally or an  intersexed person to apply to the  Director General of the  National Department of Home  Affairs for alteration of   his/her   sex  description   in   the   birth   register,   though    the legislation  does not  contemplate  a  more   inclusive  definition  of transgenders.

 

 

40.      The  Senate of Argentina in the  year  2012  passed a law on

 

 

Gender  Identity   that   recognizes   right   by   all   persons  to   the

 

 

 

 

recognition of their gender identity as well as free development of their  person  according  to  their  gender  identity  and   can   also request  that   their  recorded  sex  be   amended  along  with  the changes in first name and  image, whenever they do not agree with the   self-perceived  gender  identity.     Not   necessary  that   they seemed  to  prove   that  a  surgical  procedure  for  total  or  partial genital  reassignment,  hormonal  therapies  or  any  other psychological or  medical treatment had  taken  place.   Article 12 deals  with  dignified  treatment,  respecting  the   gender  identity adopted by the  individual, even  though  the  first name is different from  the   one   recorded  in   their   national   identity   documents. Further    laws   also   provide   that   whenever  requested   by   the individual, the  adopted first name must  be  used for summoning, recording,  filing,  calling  and   any  other   procedure  or  service  in public and private spaces.

 

 

41.    In Germany, a new law has come  into force on 5th  November,

 

 

2013,  which  allows  the  parents to register  the  sex of the  children as ‘not specified’ in the  case of children with intersex variation. According to Article 22, Section 3 of the German Civil Statutes Act reads as follows:-

 

 

 

 

“If a child can  be assigned to neither the female nor the male  sex then  the  child has to  be  named without  a specification”

 

 

 

42.    The  law has also added a category of X, apart  from “M” and

 

 

“F” under  the classification of gender in the passports.

 

 

 

Indian Scenario

 

 

 

43.  We have  referred exhaustively to the various judicial pronouncements and legislations on the international arena to highlight the fact that the recognition of “sex identity gender” of persons, and  “guarantee to equality and  non-discrimination” on the ground  of gender identity or expression is increasing and  gaining acceptance in  international  law  and,  therefore,  be  applied  in  India as well.

 

 

44.     Historical background of Transgenders in India has already been dealth in the earlier part of this Judgment indicating that they were  once  treated with  great  respect, at least in  the  past,  though not in the  present. We can  perceive a wide range of transgender related identities, cultures or experiences which are  generally as follows:

“Hijras:  Hijras   are   biological   males   who   reject   their

‘masculine’ identity in due  course of time to identify either

 

 

 

 

as   women,  or   “not-men”,   or   “in-between   man    and woman”, or “neither man nor woman”.   Hijras can be considered as  the  western  equivalent  of transgender/transsexual (male-to-female) persons but Hijras have  a long tradition/culture and  have  strong  social ties formalized through  a  ritual called “reet” (becoming a member   of   Hijra   community).      There    are    regional variations  in  the  use of  terms  referred  to  Hijras.    For example,  Kinnars  (Delhi)  and   Aravanis  (Tamil  Nadu). Hijras may earn  through  their traditional work: ‘Badhai’ (clapping their hands and  asking  for alms), blessing new- born  babies, or dancing in ceremonies.   Some proportion of Hijras engage in sex work for lack of other  job opportunities, while some may  be  self-employed or work for  non-governmental  organisations.”  (See UNDP  India Report  (December, 2010).

 

 

Eunuch:  Eunuch refers to an emasculated male and intersexed to  a  person whose genitals are  ambiguously male-like   at   birth,   but   this   is   discovered   the    child previously  assigned to  the  male  sex, would  be recategorized as intesexexd – as a Hijra.

 

 

“Aravanis  and   ‘Thirunangi’  –   Hijras  in  Tamil  Nadu identify  as “Aravani”.    Tamil  Nadu   Aravanigal  Welfare Board,   a  state government’s  initiative  under   the Department  of   Social   Welfare   defines   Aravanis   as biological males who self-identify themselves as a woman trapped in  a  male’s  body.    Some Aravani  activists  want the  public and  media to use the  term  ‘Thirunangi’ to refer to Aravanis.

 

 

Kothi – Kothis  are  a heterogeneous group.    ‘Kothis’  can be   described  as  biological  males  who   show   varying degrees of ‘femininity’ – which may  be  situational.  Some proportion  of  Kothis  have   bisexual  behavior  and   get married to a woman.   Kothis are generally of lower socioeconomic status and  some engage in sex work for survival.   Some proportion of Hijra-identified people may also  identify  themselves  as ‘Kothis’.    But  not  all  Kothi identified  people  identify  themselves  as transgender or Hijras.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jogtas/Jogappas: Jogtas or Jogappas are  those persons who  are  dedicated to and  serve as a  servant of goddess Renukha Devi (Yellamma) whose temples are  present in Maharashtra and  Karnataka.  ‘Jogta’ refers to male servant of that Goddess and  ‘Jogti’ refers to female servant (who is also  sometimes  referred  to  as  ‘Devadasi’).     One   can become  a  ‘Jogta’  (or  Jogti)  if  it   is  part   of  their  family tradition or  if  one  finds a  ‘Guru’ (or  ‘Pujari’) who  accepts him/her as a ‘Chela’ or ‘Shishya’ (disciple).  Sometimes, the term  ‘Jogti Hijras’ is used to denote those male-to-female transgender   persons   who    are     devotees/servants   of Goddess Renukha Devi and  who are  also in the Hijra communities.   This term  is used to differentiate them  from

‘Jogtas’ who  are  heterosexuals and  who  may  or may  not dress in  woman’s  attire  when  they  worship  the  Goddess.

Also,  that  term  differentiates  them  from  ‘Jogtis’  who  are

biological  females  dedicated  to  the  Goddess.   However,

‘Jogti  Hijras’  may  refer  to  themselves  as ‘Jogti’  (female pronoun) or Hijras, and even  sometimes as ‘Jogtas’.

 

 

Shiv-Shakthis:     Shiv-Shakthis  are  considered as males who  are  possessed by or  particularly  close to a  goddess and  who have  feminine gender expression.  Usually, Shiv- Shakthis are  inducted into the  Shiv-Shakti community by senior  gurus,   who  teach them  the  norms,   customs, and rituals  to  be  observed  by  them.     In  a  ceremony,  Shiv- Shakthis  are   married  to  a  sword  that   represents  male power   or  Shiva  (deity).    Shiv-Shakthis  thus become the bride  of  the   sword.    Occasionally,  Shiv-Shakthis  cross- dress and  use accessories and  ornaments that  are generally/socially meant for women.   Most  people in this community belong to lower socio-economic status and  earn for  their  living  as astrologers,  soothsayers,  and   spiritual healers; some also seek alms.”   (See Serena Nanda, Wadsworth  Publishing  Company, Second  Edition (1999)

 

 

 

45.     Transgender  people,  as a  whole,  face  multiple  forms  of oppression  in   this   country.       Discrimination   is   so   large   and

 

 

 

 

pronounced, especially  in  the  field  of  health  care, employment, education,  leave  aside social  exclusion.    A detailed  study  was conducted   by   the    United   Nations   Development   Programme (UNDP  –  India)  and  submitted  a  report  in  December, 2010  on Hijras/transgenders in India: “HIV Human  Rights and Social Exclusion”.      The  Report  states that  the  HIV  Human Immunodeficiency Virus and  Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) is now  increasingly seen in Hijras/transgenders population.   The estimated  size  of men  who  have  sex with  men  (MSM) and  male sex workers population in India (latter presumably includes Hijras/ TG communities) is 2,352,133 and  235,213 respectively.   It was stated  that   no   reliable  estimates  are   available  for  Hijras/TG women.     HIV  prevalence  among  MSM  population  was  7.4% against the  overall adult HIV prevalence of 0.36%.    It was stated recently  Hijras/TG  people  were   included  under   the  category of MSM in HIV sentinel serosurveillance.  It is also reported in recent studies that Hijras/TG women  have  indicated a very high HIV prevalence  (17.5%  to  41%)  among them.     Study  conducted by NACO  also highlights a  pathetic situation.   Report  submitted by NACI, NACP  IV Working Group  Hijras TG dated 5.5.2011 would indicate that  transgenders are  extremely vulnerable to HIV.   Both

 

 

 

 

the  reports  highlight  the  extreme necessity  of  taking  emergent steps  to  improve  their  sexual  health,  mental  health  and   also address the issue of social exclusion.  The UNDP in its report  has made the following recommendations, which are as under:

“Multiple   problems   are    faced   by    Hijras/TG,   which necessitate  a  variety  of  solutions  and   actions.    While some actions require immediate implementation such  as introducing   Hijra/TG-specific   social   welfare   schemes, some  actions  need  to  be   taken   on  a  long-term  basis changing the  negative attitude of the  general public and increasing  accurate knowledge  about   Hijra/TG communities.   The required changes need to be reflected in policies and  laws; attitude of the  government, general public and  health care  providers; and  health care  systems and  practice.      Key  recommendations  include  the following:

 

 

1.   Address the gape in NACP-III:  establish HIV sentinel serosurveillance  sites for  Hijras/TG  at  strategic locations; conduct operations research to  design and fine-tune culturally-relevant package of HIV prevention and  care  interventions for Hijras/TG; provide financial support for the  formation  of CBOs run  by  Hijras/TG; and  build the  capacity of CBOs to implement effective rogrammes.

 

 

2. Move  beyond  focusing  on  individual-level  HIV prevention activities to address the structural determinants  of  risks  and  mitigate the  impact   of risks.   For  example, mental health counseling, crisis intervention (crisis in relation to suicidal tendencies, police   harassment   and    arrests,   support  following sexual and  physical violence), addressing alcohol and drug  abuse, and  connecting to livelihood programs all need to be part of the HIV interventions.

 

 

3.   Train health   care  providers  to  be  competent and sensitive in  providing  health  care  services  (including

 

 

 

 

STI and  HIV-related services) to Hijras/TG as well as develop   and   monitor   implementation   of   guidelines related  to  gender  transition  and   sex  reassignment surgery (SRS).

 

 

4.   Clarify the ambiguous legal status of sex reassignment surgery  and   provide  gender  transition  and   SRS services (with proper  pre-and post-operation/transition counseling) for free in public hospitals in various parts in India.

 

 

5. Implement stigma and discrimination reduction measures  at   various  settings  through   a   variety  of ways: mass media awareness for the general public to focused training and  sensitization for police and  health care  providers.

 

 

6.   Develop action steps toward  taking a position on legal recognition  of gender  identity  of Hijras/TG  need to be  taken  in consultation with Hijras/TG and  other  key stakeholders.   Getting legal recognition and  avoiding ambiguities   in   the    current    procedures   that    issue identity  documents to Hijras/TGs  are  required  as they are  connected to basic  civil rights such  as access to health and public services, right to vote, right to contest elections, right to education, inheritance rights, and marriage and child adoption.

 

 

7.   Open   up  the  existing  Social  Welfare  Schemes for needy Hijras/TG  and  create specific  welfare  schemes to  address  the   basic   needs  of  Hijras/TG  including housing and employment needs.

 

 

8. Ensure   greater     involvement   of    vulnerable communities including Hijras/TG women  in policy formulation and program development.”

 

 

 

46.     Social exclusion and  discrimination on the  ground  of gender stating    that    one    does   not    conform    to   the    binary    gender

 

 

 

 

(male/female) does prevail in India.    Discussion on gender identity including   self-identification   of   gender   of   male/female   or   as transgender mostly focuses on  those persons who  are  assigned male  sex at birth,  whether one  talks  of Hijra  transgender, woman or  male  or  male  to  female  transgender persons,  while  concern voiced by those who are  identified as female to male trans-sexual persons often not properly addressed. Female to male unlike Hijra/ transgender persons are  not quite visible in public unlike Hijra/transgender persons.  Many of them,  however, do experience violence and  discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

 

 

INDIA TO FOLLOW INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

 

 

 

47.     International Conventions and  norms are  significant for the purpose  of  interpretation  of  gender  equality.    Article  1  of  the Universal  declaration  on   Human   Rights,  1948,   states  that   all human-beings are  born free and  equal in dignity and  rights.  Article

3   of  the   Universal  Declaration  of  Human   Rights  states  that everyone has a right to life, liberty and  security of person. Article 6 of the  International Covenant on  Civil  and  Political Rights, 1966 affirms that every  human-being has the inherent right to life, which

 

 

 

 

right  shall  be  protected  by  law  and   no  one   shall  be  arbitrarily deprived  of  his  life.      Article  5  of  the  Universal  Declaration  of Human  Rights and  Article 7 of the  International Covenant on Civil and   Political  Rights  provide  that  no  one   shall  be  subjected  to torture  or to cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. United   Nations   Convention   against   Torture   and   Other   Cruel Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (dated 24th January, 2008)  specifically deals with protection of individuals and groups  made  vulnerable  by   discrimination  or   marginalization. Para 21 of the Convention states that States are  obliged to protect from torture  or ill-treatment all persons regardless of sexual orientation  or  transgender  identity  and   to  prohibit,  prevent  and provide redress for torture  and  ill-treatment in all contests of State custody  or  control.    Article  12  of  the   Universal  Declaration  of Human  Rights and  Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and   Political  Rights  state  that   no   one   shall  be   subjected  to “arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home  or correspondence”.

 

 

48.     Above-mentioned  International  Human   Rights  instruments which  are  being  followed  by  various  countries  in  the  world  are aimed  to protect  the  human rights  of transgender people  since  it

 

 

 

 

has  been  noticed   that    transgenders/transsexuals   often   face serious human rights violations, such  as harassment in work place, hospitals, places of public conveniences, market  places, theaters, railway stations, bus stands, and so on.

 

 

49.     Indian Law,  on  the  whole, only recognizes the  paradigm of binary  genders  of  male  and   female,  based on  a  person’s  sex assigned by birth, which permits gender system, including the  law relating   to   marriage,   adoption,   inheritance,   succession   and taxation and  welfare legislations.    We have  exhaustively referred to various articles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948,  the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural  Rights,  1966,   the   International  Covenant  on  Civil  and Political   Rights,   1966   as  well   as  the   Yogyakarta  principles. Reference  was  also  made  to     legislations  enacted  in  other countries dealing with rights of persons of transgender community. Unfortunately  we  have  no  legislation  in  this  country  dealing  with the  rights  of  transgender  community.    Due  to  the  absence of suitable  legislation  protecting  the  rights  of  the  members of  the transgender community, they  are  facing discrimination in various areas and  hence the  necessity to follow the  International Conventions  to which  India  is  a  party  and  to give  due  respect to

 

 

 

 

other non-binding International Conventions and principles. Constitution makers could not have  envisaged that each and every human activity  be  guided,  controlled,  recognized  or  safeguarded by laws made by the legislature.   Article 21 has been incorporated to safeguard those rights and  a  constitutional Court  cannot be  a mute  spectator when  those rights are  violated, but is expected to safeguard those rights knowing the pulse and feeling of that community, though  a  minority, especially when  their rights have gained universal recognition and acceptance.

 

 

50.     Article  253   of  the   Constitution  of  India  states  that   the Parliament  has the  power  to make  any  law  for the  whole  or any part of the territory of India for implementing any treaty,  agreement or  convention.   Generally, therefore, a  legislation is required for implementing  the  international  conventions,  unlike  the  position  in the  United  States of America  where  the  rules  of international  law are  applied by the  municipal courts on the  theory  of their implied adoption by the  State, as a part  of its own municipal law.    Article VI, Cl. (2) of the U.S. Constitution reads as follows:

“……..all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the united States, shall be the supreme law of the  land, and  the  judges in every  State shall be bound  thereby, anything in the  Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary not-withstanding.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

51.     In  the  United  States,  however, it  is  open   to  the  courts to supersede or modify international law in its application or it may be controlled by the treaties entered into by the United States.  But, till an  Act of Congress is passed, the  Court  is bound  by the  law of nations, which is part  of the  law of the  land.   Such  a  ‘supremacy clause’  is  absent in  our  Constitution.   Courts in  India  would  apply the rules of International law according to the principles of comity of Nations, unless they are  overridden by clear  rules of domestic law. See: Gramophone Company of India Ltd.  v. Birendra Bahadur Pandey (1984)  2 SCC  534 and  Tractor Export v. Tarapore & Co. (1969)   3  SCC   562,   Mirza  Ali  Akbar   Kashani  v.  United  Arab Republic    (1966)   1  SCR   391.     In  the   case of  Jolly   George Varghese v. Bank  of Cochin (1980)  2 SCC  360, the Court applied the above principle in respect of the International Covenant on Civil and   Political  Rights,  1966   as  well  as  in  connection  with  the Universal  Declaration  of  Human   Rights.      India  has ratified  the above mentioned covenants, hence, those covenants can  be  used by the  municipal  courts as an  aid  to the  Interpretation  of Statutes by applying the  Doctrine of Harmonization.     But,  certainly, if  the Indian law is not in conflict with the International covenants, particularly pertaining to human rights, to which India is a party,  the

 

 

 

 

domestic court  can  apply those principles in the  Indian conditions. The Interpretation of International Conventions is governed by Articles 31 and  32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969.

 

 

52.     Article  51  of the  Directive  Principles  of State Policy,  which falls under  Part IV of the Indian Constitution, reads as under:

“Art. 51.  The State shall endeavour to – (a) promote international peace and security;

(b)   maintain just and honourable relations between nations;

 

 

(c) Foster  respect   for   international   law   and    treaty obligation in the  dealings of organised peoples with one another; and

 

 

(d) Encourage  settlement  of  international  disputes  by arbitration.”

 

 

53.     Article 51,  as already indicated, has to  be  read  along with Article 253  of the  Constitution.   If  the  parliament has made any legislation which is in conflict with the international law, then  Indian Courts are  bound  to give effect to the  Indian Law, rather  than  the international   law.      However,   in   the    absence  of   a   contrary legislation,  municipal  courts in  India  would  respect the  rules  of international law.    In His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadavalvaru  v.  State of  Kerala   (1973)   4  SCC   225,   it  was

 

 

 

 

stated that  in view of Article 51 of the  Constitution, the  Court  must interpret language of the  Constitution, if not intractable, in the  light of United Nations Charter and  the solemn declaration subscribed to it  by  India.    In  Apparel  Export  Promotion  Council  v.  A.  K. Chopra (1999)  1 SCC  759,  it was pointed out that domestic courts are   under   an  obligation  to  give  due   regard to  the  international conventions and  norms for construing the  domestic laws, more  so, when  there  is no inconsistency between them  and  there  is a void in domestic  law.  Reference  may  also  be  made to the  Judgments of this Court in Githa  Hariharan  (Ms) and  another v. Reserve Bank of India and  another (1999)  2 SCC  228, R.D. Upadhyay  v. State of Andhra Pradesh and  others (2007)  15 SCC  337 and  People’s Union  for Civil Liberties  v. Union  of India and  another (2005)  2

SCC  436.    In  Vishaka  and  others v.  State of  Rajasthan and Others (1997)  6 SCC  241,  this Court  under  Article 141  laid down various  guidelines  to  prevent  sexual  harassment  of  women   in working  places,  and  to enable  gender equality  relying  on  Articles

11,   24   and   general  recommendations  22,   23   and   24   of  the Convention  on   the   Elimination  of   All  Forms  of  Discrimination against Women. Any international convention not inconsistent with the  fundamental rights and  in harmony with  its spirit must  be  read

 

 

 

 

into  those  provisions,  e.g.,   Articles  14,   15,   19  and   21  of  the Constitution  to  enlarge  the  meaning  and  content thereof  and  to promote   the    object   of   constitutional   guarantee.      Principles discussed hereinbefore on TGs and  the  International Conventions, including   Yogyakarta   principles,   which   we    have    found   not inconsistent with the  various fundamental rights guaranteed under the  Indian  Constitution,  must  be  recognized  and  followed,  which has sufficient legal and historical justification in our country.

 

 

ARTICLE 14 AND TRANSGENDERS

 

 

 

54.     Article  14  of the  Constitution  of India  states that  the  State shall not deny  to “any person” equality before the  law or the  equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.  Equality includes the  full  and  equal enjoyment of all rights and  freedom.   Right to equality has been declared as the basic  feature of the  Constitution and  treatment of equals as unequals or unequals as equals will be violative of the basic  structure of the Constitution.  Article 14 of the Constitution  also  ensures equal  protection  and  hence a  positive obligation  on  the   State  to  ensure  equal  protection  of  laws  by bringing  in  necessary  social  and   economic  changes,  so   that everyone including  TGs may  enjoy  equal  protection  of laws  and

 

 

 

 

nobody  is denied such  protection. Article 14  does not  restrict the word ‘person’ and its application only to male or female. Hijras/transgender persons who are  neither male/female fall within the  expression ‘person’ and,  hence, entitled to legal protection of laws   in   all   spheres  of   State  activity,   including   employment, healthcare,  education  as well  as equal  civil and  citizenship  rights, as enjoyed by any other citizen of this country.

 

 

55.     Petitioners  have  asserted as well  as demonstrated on  facts and  figures  supported by  relevant  materials  that  despite constitutional  guarantee  of  equality,  Hijras/transgender  persons have   been  facing  extreme  discrimination  in  all  spheres  of  the society.      Non-recognition  of  the   identity  of  Hijras/transgender persons denies them  equal protection of law, thereby leaving them extremely vulnerable to harassment, violence and  sexual assault in public  spaces, at  home   and  in  jail,  also  by  the  police.    Sexual assault, including molestation, rape, forced anal and  oral sex, gang rape  and  stripping is being committed with impunity and  there  are reliable statistics and  materials to support such activities.  Further, non-recognition of identity of Hijras /transgender persons results in them   facing  extreme  discrimination  in  all  spheres  of  society, especially  in  the  field  of  employment,  education,  healthcare  etc.

 

 

 

 

Hijras/transgender persons face huge  discrimination in access to public spaces like restaurants, cinemas, shops, malls etc.    Further, access to public toilets is also a  serious problem they  face quite often.        Since, there  are  no  separate toilet facilities for Hijras/transgender  persons, they  have  to  use male  toilets  where they  are  prone  to sexual  assault  and  harassment.  Discrimination on  the  ground  of sexual orientation or  gender identity, therefore, impairs equality before law and  equal protection of law and  violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

 

 

ARTICLES 15 & 16 AND TRANSGENDERS

 

 

 

56.     Articles  15 and  16 prohibit  discrimination  against  any  citizen on certain enumerated grounds, including the  ground  of ‘sex’.    In fact, both  the  Articles prohibit all forms of gender bias and  gender based discrimination.

 

 

57.     Article 15 states that  the  State shall not discriminate against any citizen, inter alia, on the ground  of sex, with regard to

(a)     access to  shops, public  restaurants,  hotels  and   places  of public entertainment; or

(b)     use of wells, tanks,  bathing ghats, roads and  places of public resort   maintained  wholly  or  partly  out  of  State  funds  or dedicated to the use of the general public.

 

 

 

 

The  requirement  of  taking  affirmative action for  the advancement of any  socially  and  educationally  backward classes of citizens is also provided in this Article.

 

 

58.     Article  16  states that  there  shall  be  equality  of opportunities for all the citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any  office under  the  State. Article 16  (2) of the  Constitution of India reads as follows :

“16(2).  No  citizen  shall,  on  grounds only  of  religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any  of them,  be  ineligible  for,  or discriminated  against in  respect  or,  any   employment  or  office  under   the State.”

 

 

Article  16  not  only  prohibits  discrimination  on  the  ground  of sex in public employment, but also imposes a duty on the  State to ensure that  all citizens are  treated equally in matters relating to employment and appointment by the State.

 

 

59.     Articles 15  and  16  sought to  prohibit discrimination on  the basis of sex, recognizing that  sex discrimination is a historical fact and   needs  to  be   addressed.    Constitution  makers,  it  can   be gathered, gave  emphasis to the fundamental right against sex discrimination so as to prevent the direct or indirect attitude to treat people  differently,  for  the  reason of not  being  in  conformity  with

 

 

 

 

stereotypical generalizations of binary genders.   Both gender and biological  attributes  constitute  distinct  components of  sex. Biological   characteristics,   of   course,  include   genitals, chromosomes   and    secondary   sexual    features,    but    gender attributes include one’s self image, the deep psychological or emotional  sense of  sexual  identity  and   character.  The discrimination  on  the  ground   of  ‘sex’  under   Articles  15  and   16, therefore, includes discrimination on the  ground  of gender identity. The expression ‘sex’ used in Articles 15 and  16 is not just limited to biological  sex of male  or  female,  but  intended  to  include  people who consider themselves to be neither male or female.

 

 

60.     TGs have  been systematically denied the  rights under  Article

 

 

15(2) that is not to be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction or condition  in  regard to access to public  places.   TGs have  also not been afforded special provisions envisaged under  Article 15(4) for  the  advancement of  the  socially  and  educationally  backward classes  (SEBC)   of  citizens,  which  they   are,   and   hence  legally entitled and  eligible to get the benefits of SEBC.    State is bound  to take   some affirmative  action  for  their  advancement  so  that  the injustice  done  to them  for centuries  could  be  remedied.   TGs are also  entitled  to enjoy  economic,  social,  cultural  and  political  rights

 

 

 

 

without  discrimination,  because  forms  of  discrimination  on   the ground  of gender are  violative of fundamental freedoms and human rights.    TGs have  also been denied rights under  Article 16(2)  and discriminated against in respect of employment or office under  the State on the  ground  of sex.  TGs are  also entitled to reservation in the  matter  of appointment, as envisaged under  Article 16(4)  of the Constitution.   State is bound  to take  affirmative action to give them due representation in public services.

 

 

61.     Articles 15(2)  to (4) and  Article 16(4)  read  with the  Directive Principles of State Policy and  various international instruments to which Indian is a party,  call for social equality, which the TGs could realize, only if facilities and  opportunities are  extended to them  so that  they  can   also  live  with  dignity  and  equal  status with  other genders.

 

 

ARTICLE 19(1)(a) AND TRANSGENDERS

 

 

 

62.     Article    19(1)     of    the     Constitution    guarantees   certain fundamental rights, subject  to  the  power  of  the  State to  impose restrictions from exercise of those rights.   The  rights conferred by Article 19  are  not  available to any  person who  is not  a  citizen of India.   Article  19(1)  guarantees those great  basic  rights  which  are

 

 

 

 

recognized  and  guaranteed as the  natural  rights  inherent  in  the status of  the  citizen  of  a  free  country.     Article  19(1)  (a)  of  the Constitution  states that  all  citizens  shall  have  the  right  to freedom of speech and  expression, which includes one’s right to expression of   his   self-identified   gender.     Self-identified   gender  can    be expressed through  dress, words,  action or  behavior or  any  other form.    No restriction can  be placed on one’s personal appearance or choice of dressing, subject to the restrictions contained in Article

19(2) of the Constitution.

 

 

 

63.     We may,  in this connection, refer to few judgments of the US Supreme Courts on the rights of TG’s freedom of expression.  The Supreme Court  of the  State of Illinois in the  City  of  Chicago v. Wilson et  al.,  75  III.2d 525(1978) struck  down  the  municipal law prohibiting cross-dressing, and held as follows “-

“the notion that  the  State can  regulate one’s personal appearance, unconfined by any constitutional strictures whatsoever, is fundamentally inconsistent with “values of   privacy,   self-identity,   autonomy  and    personal integrity that …..   the Constitution was designed to protect.”

 

 

 

64.     In Doe  v.  Yunits et  al.,  2000  WL33162199 (Mass.  Super.), the  Superior Court  of Massachusetts, upheld the  right of a person

 

 

 

 

to wear  school dress that  matches her  gender identity as part  of protected speech and expression and observed as follows :-

“by  dressing in  clothing  and  accessories  traditionally associated with  the  female  gender, she  is  expressing her identification with the gender.  In addition, plaintiff’s ability  to   express  herself  and   her   gender  identity through   dress  is  important  for  her  health  and   well- being.  Therefore, plaintiff’s expression is not merely a personal  preference  but  a  necessary symbol  of  her identity.”

 

 

 

65.     Principles referred to above clearly indicate that the freedom of  expression  guaranteed  under   Article  19(1)(a)   includes  the freedom to express one’s chosen gender identity through  varied ways  and   means  by  way   of  expression,  speech,  mannerism, clothing etc.

 

 

66.     Gender identity, therefore, lies at  the  core  of one’s personal identity, gender expression and  presentation and,  therefore, it will have  to be  protected under  Article 19(1)(a)  of the  Constitution of India.   A transgender’s personality could be expressed by the transgender’s  behavior  and  presentation.    State cannot prohibit, restrict or interfere with a transgender’s expression of such personality,  which  reflects  that  inherent  personality.      Often  the State and  its authorities either due  to ignorance or otherwise fail to digest  the  innate  character  and   identity  of  such   persons.   We,

 

 

 

 

therefore, hold that  values of privacy, self-identity, autonomy and personal integrity are  fundamental rights guaranteed to members of the  transgender community  under   Article  19(1)(a)   of  the Constitution  of  India  and   the   State  is  bound   to   protect   and recognize those rights.

 

 

ARTICLE 21 AND THE TRANSGENDERS

 

 

 

67.     Article 21 of the Constitution of India reads as follows:

 

 

“21.       Protection of life and  personal liberty  – No person shall be  deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”

 

 

Article 21  is the  heart  and  soul of the  Indian Constitution, which speaks of the rights to life and  personal liberty.    Right to life is one  of the  basic  fundamental rights and  not even  the  State has the authority to violate or take  away  that  right.  Article 21 takes all those aspects of life which go to make  a person’s life meaningful. Article  21   protects  the   dignity  of  human  life,  one’s  personal autonomy, one’s right to privacy, etc.    Right to dignity has been recognized to be an essential part of the right to life and accrues to all persons on  account of being humans.     In  Francis Coralie Mullin v. Administrator, Union  Territory of Delhi  (1981)  1 SCC

608  (paras 7 and  8), this Court  held that  the  right to dignity forms

 

 

 

 

an   essential  part   of  our  constitutional  culture  which  seeks  to ensure the full development and  evolution of persons and  includes “expressing  oneself  in  diverse  forms,  freely  moving  about   and mixing and comingling with fellow human beings”.

 

 

68.     Recognition of one’s gender identity lies at  the  heart  of the fundamental  right  to   dignity.     Gender, as  already  indicated, constitutes the  core  of one’s sense of being as well as an  integral part  of a person’s identity.  Legal recognition of gender identity is, therefore,  part  of right  to  dignity  and  freedom  guaranteed under our Constitution.

 

 

 

69.     Article 21, as already indicated, guarantees the protection of “personal autonomy”  of  an  individual.     In  Anuj  Garg  v.  Hotel Association of  India (2008)  3  SCC  1  (paragraphs 34-35),  this Court held that personal autonomy includes both the negative right of not to be subject to interference by others and  the positive right of  individuals  to   make   decisions  about   their  life,  to   express themselves and  to choose which activities to take  part  in.   Self- determination  of gender is  an  integral  part  of personal  autonomy and  self-expression and  falls within the  realm of personal liberty guaranteed under  Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEGAL RECOGNITION OF THIRD/TRANSGENDER IDENTITY

 

 

 

70.     Self-identified gender can  be either male or female or a third gender.   Hijras  are  identified  as persons of third  gender and  are not identified either as male or female.  Gender identity, as already indicated, refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female or  a  transgender, for  example  Hijras  do  not  identify  as female because of their lack of female genitalia or  lack of reproductive capability.    This distinction makes them  separate from both  male and  female  genders and  they  consider themselves  neither  man nor  woman, but  a  “third gender”.   Hijras, therefore, belong to  a distinct  socio-religious  and  cultural  group  and  have, therefore,  to be  considered as a  “third  gender”,  apart  from  male  and  female. State of Punjab  has treated all  TGs as male  which  is  not  legally sustainable.     State  of  Tamil  Nadu   has  taken   lot  of  welfare measures to safeguard the rights of TGs, which we have  to acknowledge.  Few States like Kerala, Tripura, Bihar have  referred TGs as “third  gender or sex”.   Certain  States recognize  them  as “third category”.  Few benefits have  also been extended by certain other  States. Our  neighbouring countries have  also upheld their fundamental rights and right to live with dignity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

71.     The  Supreme Court  of Nepal in Sunil  Babu  Pant  & Ors. v. Nepal  Government (Writ Petition No.917  of 2007  decided on 21st December,  2007),    spoke  on   the   rights   of   Transgenders  as follows:-

“the fundamental rights comprised under  Part  II of the Constitution are  enforceable fundamental human rights guaranteed to the  citizens against the  State.  For this reason, the fundamental rights stipulated in Part  III are the rights similarly vested in the third gender people as human  beings.  The   homosexuals  and   third  gender people  are   also  human  beings  as  other   men   and women  are,  and  they are  the citizens of this country  as well….      Thus,    the   people   other    than   ‘men’   and

‘women’,  including  the  people  of ‘third  gender’  cannot be   discriminated.   The   State  should   recognize   the

existence of all natural persons including the people of

third gender other  than  the  men  and  women.    And it cannot   deprive   the    people   of   third   gender  from

enjoying the  fundamental rights provided by Part  III of the Constitution.”

 

 

72.     The  Supreme Court  of Pakistan in Dr. Mohammad Aslam Khaki  & Anr.  V. Senior Superintendent of  Police (Operation) Rawalpindi & Ors.  (Constitution  Petition  No.43  of 2009)  decided on  22nd   March,   2011,   had   occasion  to  consider  the   rights  of eunuchs and held as follows:-

“Needless to observe that  eunuchs in their rights are citizens  of this  country  and  subject  to the  Constitution of the  Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973,  their rights, obligations including right to life and  dignity are  equally protected.    Thus no discrimination, for any  reason, is possible   against   them   as  far   as  their   rights   and

 

 

 

 

obligations  are  concerned.      The  Government functionaries both  at  federal and  provincial levels are bound  to provide  them  protection  of life  and  property and  secure their dignity as well, as is done  in case of other  citizens.”

 

 

 

73.     We  may  remind ourselves of the  historical presence of the third gender in this country as well as in the neighbouring countries.

 

 

74.     Article 21,  as already indicated, protects one’s right of self- determination of the  gender to  which a  person belongs. Determination  of  gender  to  which  a   person  belongs  is  to  be decided by the  person concerned.  In other  words,  gender identity is  integral  to  the  dignity  of  an  individual  and   is  at  the  core   of “personal autonomy” and “self-determination”. Hijras/Eunuchs, therefore, have  to be considered as Third Gender, over and  above binary genders under  our Constitution and the laws.

 

 

75.     Articles  14,  15,  16,  19  and   21,  above  discussion,  would indicate,  do  not  exclude Hijras/Transgenders  from  its  ambit,  but Indian law on the  whole recognize the  paradigm of binary genders of male and  female, based on  one’s biological sex.   As already indicated,  we  cannot accept  the  Corbett   principle  of  “Biological Test”,  rather   we  prefer  to  follow  the   psyche  of  the   person  in determining  sex and  gender and  prefer  the  “Psychological  Test”

 

 

 

 

instead of “Biological Test”.  Binary notion of gender reflects in the Indian Penal Code, for example, Section 8, 10, etc.  and  also in the laws related to marriage, adoption, divorce, inheritance, succession and other welfare legislations like NAREGA, 2005, etc.    Non- recognition of the identity of Hijras/Transgenders in the various legislations  denies  them   equal  protection  of  law  and   they  face wide-spread discrimination.

 

 

76.     Article 14 has used the expression “person” and the Article 15 has used the  expression  “citizen”  and   “sex”  so  also  Article  16. Article 19  has also used the  expression “citizen”.   Article 21  has used the  expression “person”.     All  these expressions, which are “gender neutral” evidently refer to human-beings.  Hence, they take within their sweep Hijras/Transgenders and  are  not as such limited to  male or  female gender.   Gender identity as already indicated forms  the  core  of one’s  personal  self,  based on  self  identification, not on surgical or medical procedure.  Gender identity, in our view, is an integral part of sex and  no citizen can  be discriminated on the ground   of  gender identity,  including  those who  identify  as third gender.

77.     We,  therefore, conclude that  discrimination on  the  basis of sexual  orientation  or  gender identity  includes  any  discrimination,

 

 

 

 

exclusion,  restriction   or   preference,   which   has  the   effect   of nullifying or transposing equality by the  law or the  equal protection of  laws  guaranteed  under   our  Constitution,  and   hence  we  are inclined to  give various directions to  safeguard the  constitutional rights of the members of the TG community.

 

 

 

..………………………..J (K.S. Radhakrishnan)

 

 

 

A.K. SIKRI,J.

 

78.     I  have  carefully, and  with lot of interest, gone   through   the perspicuous opinion of my brother  Radhakrishnan,J.   I am entirely in  agreement with  the  discussion  contained  in  the  said  judgment on  all  the  cardinal  issues  that  have   arisen  for  consideration  in these proceedings. At the same time, having regard to the fact that the issues involved are  of seminal importance, I am also inclined to pen down my thoughts.

 

 

79.               As is clear,  these petitions essentially raise an issue of

 

 

“Gender Identity”, which is the core issue. It has two facets, viz.:

 

 

“(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 moreso,  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”?

 

 

80.     We would hasten to add that it is the second issue with which we are  primarily concerned in these petitions though  in the process of discussion, first issue which is somewhat inter-related, has also popped up.

 

 

81.     Indubitably, the  issue of choice of gender identify has all the trappings of a human rights. That  apart, as it becomes clear  from the  reading  of  the  judgment  of  my  esteemed Brother Radhakrishnan,J., the issue is not limited to the exercise of choice of gender/sex. Many rights which flow from this choice also  come into play, inasmuch not  giving them  the  status of a  third gender results in depriving the community of TGs of many  of their valuable rights and  privileges which other  persons enjoy as citizens of this Country.    There    is   also   deprivation   of   social   and    cultural participation which results into eclipsing their access to education and  health services. Radhakrishnan,J. has exhaustively described the term ‘Transgender’ as an umbrella term which embraces within itself  a wide  range of identities  and  experiences  including  but not

 

 

 

 

limited to pre-operative/post-operative trans sexual people who strongly identify with the gender opposite to their biological sex i.e. male/ female.  Therein, the  history of transgenders in India is also traced and  while doing so,  there  is mention of upon  the  draconian legislation  enacted  during  the   British  Rule,  known   as Criminal Tribes Act, 1871  which treated, per  se, the  entire community of Hizra persons as innately ‘criminals’, ‘addicted to  the  systematic commission of non-bailable offences’.

 

 

82.     With these introductory remarks, I revert  to the  two facets of pivotal importance mentioned above. Before embarking on the discussion, I may clarify that my endeavour would be not to repeat the discussion contained in the judgment of my Brother Radhakrishnan,  J.,  as I  agree with  every   word  written  therein. However, at  times,  if  some of  the  observations  are  re-narrated, that  would be  only with a  view to bring continuity in the  thought process.

(1)     Re:  Right of  a  person to  have   the  gender of  his/her choice.

When   a  child  is  born,   at  the   time  of  birth  itself,  sex  is assigned  to  him/her.  A  child  would  be   treated  with  that   sex thereafter, i.e. either a male or a female. However, as explained in

 

 

 

 

detail in the accompanying judgment, some persons, though relatively very small in number, may born with bodies which incorporate  both   or   certain  aspects  of  both   male  or   female physiology. It may  also happen that  though  a person is born  as a male, because of some genital anatomy problems his innate perception may  be  that  of a  female and  all his actions would be female oriented. The position may be exactly the opposite wherein a person born as female may behave like a male person.

 

 

83.     In    earlier    times    though     one     could    observe    such characteristics, at the same time the underlying rationale or reason behind such  a behavior was not known. Over a period of time, with in depth  study  and  research of such  physical and  psychological factors bevaviour, the causes of this behaviour have  become discernable  which  in  turn,  has led  to  some changes in  societal norms.  Society  has starting accepting, though  slowly, these have accepted the  behavioral norms of such  persons without  treating it as abnormal. Further,  medical science has leaped forward to such an  extent   that  even  physiology appearance of a  person can  be changed through   surgical  procedures, from  male  to  female  and vice-versa. In this way, such   persons are  able to acquire the body which  is  in  conformity  with  the  perception  of their  gender/gender

 

 

 

 

characteristics.   In order  to ensure that  law  also  keeps pace with the  aforesaid progress in medical science, various countries have come   out  with  Legislation  conferring  rights  on  such   persons to recognize their gender identity based on reassigned sex after undergoing    Sex    Re-Assignment   Surgery   (SRS).     Law    and judgments given by the courts in other countries have  been exhaustively and  grandiloquently traversed by my learned Brother in his judgment, discussing amongst others, the Yogyakarta principles, the  relevant provisions of the  Universal Declaration of Human   Rights  1948   and   highlighting  the   statutory  framework operating in those countries.

 

 

84.     The genesis of this recognition lies in the acknowledgment of another fundamental and  universal principal viz. “right of choice” given  to  an  individual  which  is  the  inseparable  part  of  human rights.   It is a matter  of historical significance that  the  20th   Century is often described as “the age  of rights”.

 

 

85.     The  most  important lesson which was learnt as a  result of Second World  War  was the  realization  by  the  Governments of various  countries  about   the  human dignity  which  needed to  be cherished   and    protected.   It   is   for   this   reason  that   in   the

 

 

 

 

U.N.Charter, 1945,  adopted immediately after the  Second World War, dignity of the individuals was mentioned as of core  value. The almost contemporaneous Universal Declaration of Human  Rights (1948)  echoed same sentiments.

 

 

86.     The  underlined message in the  aforesaid documents is the acknowledgment  that   human  rights  are   individual  and   have   a definite  linkage  of  human  development,  both   sharing  common vision  and  with  a  common purpose. Respect for human rights  is the  root for human development and  realization of full potential of each individual, which in turn leads to the  augmentation of human resources with progress of the nation. Empowerment of the people through  human development is the aim of human rights.

 

 

87.     There  is thus a  universal recognition that  human rights are rights that  “belong” to  every  person, and  do  not  depend on  the specifics  of  the  individual  or  the  relationship  between the  right- holder and  the  right-grantor. Moreover,  human rights exist irrespective   of   the    question   whether   they    are    granted   or recognized by  the  legal and  social system within which we  live. They are  devices to evaluate these existing arrangements: ideally, these  arrangements should  not  violate  human  rights.  In  other

 

 

 

 

words,   human  rights  are   moral,  pre-legal  rights.  They   are   not granted by people nor can  they be taken  away  by them.

 

 

88.     In international human rights law, equality is found upon  two complementary principles: non-discrimination and reasonable differentiation. The  principle of non-discrimination seeks to ensure that  all persons can  equally enjoy and  exercise all their rights and freedoms. Discrimination occurs due to arbitrary denial of opportunities for equal participation. For example, when public facilities and  services are  set on standards out of the  reach of the TGs,  it leads to  exclusion and  denial of rights. Equality not  only implies preventing discrimination (example, the protection of individuals against unfavourable treatment by introducing anti- discrimination laws), but goes beyond in remedying discrimination against  groups suffering  systematic  discrimination  in  society.  In concrete terms,  it means embracing the  notion of positive rights, affirmative action and reasonable accommodation.

 

 

89.   Nevertheless, the Universal Declaration of Human  Rights recognizes that all human beings are  born free and  equal in dignity and  rights and,  since  the  Covenant’s provisions apply fully to all members of society,  persons with disabilities are  clearly entitled to

 

 

 

 

the  full range of rights recognized in the  Covenant. Moreover,  the requirement contained in Article 2 of the  Covenant that  the  rights enunciated  will  be  exercised  without  discrimination  of  any  kind based on certain  specified grounds or other  status clearly applies to cover persons with disabilities.

 

 

90.     India  attained  independence  within  two years of adoption  of the aforesaid U.N.Charter and  it was but natural that such  a Bill of Rights would assume prime importance insofar as thinking of the members of the  Constituent Assembly goes. It in fact did and  we found chapter on fundamental rights in Part-III of the  Constitution. It  is not  necessary for  me,  keeping in view  the  topic of today’s discussion, to embark on detailed discussion on Chapter-III. Some of the  provisions  relevant  for our  purposes would  be  Article  14,

15,16   and   21   of  the   Constitution  which   have    already  been adverted  to   in  detail  in  the   accompanying  judgment.  At  this juncture it also needs to be  emphasized simultaneously is that  in addition   to   the   fundamental   rights,   Constitution   makers  also deemed it proper  to impose certain obligations on the  State in the form of “Directive Principles of State Policy” (Part-IV) as a mark of good   governance.  It  is  this  part   which  provides  an   ideal  and purpose to our Constitution and  delineates certain principles which

 

 

 

 

are  fundamental  in  the  governance of the  country.  Dr.Ambedkar had   explained  the  purpose  of  these Directive  Principles  in  the following manner (See Constituent Assembly debates):

“The Directive Principles are like the Instruments  of  Instructions  which  were issued to the Governor-General and the Governors of Colonies, and  to those of India by  the  British  Government  under   the  1935

Government of India Act. What is called “Directive Principles” is merely another name for  the  Instrument of  Instructions. The  only difference is that  they  are  instructions to the legislature   and    the    executive.   Whoever capture power  will not be  free to do what  he likes with it. In the  exercise of it he  will have to  respect these instruments of instructions which are  called Directive Principles”.

 

 

 

91.    The  basic  spirit of our  Constitution is to  provide each and every  person of the  nation equal opportunity to grow as a human being, irrespective of race, caste, religion, community and  social status. Granville Austin while analyzing the  functioning of Indian Constitution  in  first  50  years  ha  described  three   distinguished strands of Indian Constitution: (i)protecting national unity and integrity,  (ii)establishing  the  institution  and   spirit  of  democracy; and   (iii)   fostering  social  reforms.   The   Strands  are   mutually dependent,  and   inextricably  intertwined  in  what   he   elegantly describes   as  “a   seamless   web”.   And  there   cannot  be   social

 

 

 

 

reforms till it is ensured that each and  every  citizen of this country is   able   to   exploit   his/her   potentials   to   the   maximum.    The Constitution, although drafted by the  Constituent Assembly, was meant for the  people  of India  and  that  is  why it is  given  by the people to themselves as expressed in the opening words “We the People”. What  is the  most  important gift to the  common person given by  this Constitution is “fundamental rights” which may  be called Human  Rights as well.

 

 

92.   The  concept of equality  in  Article  14  so  also  the  meaning  of the   words  ‘life’,   ‘liberty’   and   ‘law’   in   Article   21   have    been considerably enlarged by judicial decisions. Anything which is not

‘reasonable,  just  and   fair’  is  not  treated  to  be   equal  and   is, therefore, violative of Article 14.

 

 

 

93.     Speaking for the  vision of our founding fathers, in State of Karnataka v. Rangnatha Reddy (AIR 1978  SC  215),  this  Court speaking through  Justice Krishna Iyer observed:

“The social philosophy of the Constitution shapes creative judicial vision and   orientation.    Our  nation  has,   as its dynamic   doctrine,   economic   democracy sans  which  political  democracy  is chimerical. We say so because our Constitution,    in    Parts   III    and    IV   and

 

 

 

 

elsewhere, ensouls such  a  value system, and  the  debate in this case puts precisely this  soul  in  peril….Our  thesis is  that  the dialectics of social justice should not be missed if the synthesis of Parts III and  Part IV  is  to  influence  State action  and  court pronouncements. Constitutional problems cannot be studied in a socio-economic vacuum, since  socio-cultural changes are the    source   of   the    new    values,   and sloughing  off  old  legal  thought   is  part  of the process the new equity-loaded legality. A judge is a  social scientist in his role as constitutional  invigilator  and  fails functionally if  he  forgets this dimension in his complex duties.”

 

 

 

94.     While interpreting Art. 21, this Court has comprehended such diverse  aspects as children  in  jail  entitled  to  special  treatment (Sheela Barse  vs. Union   of  India  [(1986)3  SCC   596],  health hazard due  to pollution  (Mehta  M.C. v. Union  of  India  [(1987)  4

SCC  463], beggars interest in housing (Kalidas Vs. State of J&K [(1987) 3  SCC  430] health hazard from harmful drugs (Vincent Panikurlangara Vs.  Union  of  India AIR 1987  SC  990),  right of speedy trial  (Reghubir Singh Vs.  State of  Bihar,  AIR 1987  SC

149),   handcuffing  of  prisoners(Aeltemesh  Rein   Vs.  Union   of India, AIR 1988  SC  1768),  delay in execution of death sentence, immediate medical aid to injured persons(Parmanand Katara  Vs. Union of India, AIR 1989  SC 2039),  starvation deaths(Kishen Vs.

 

 

 

 

State of  Orissa, AIR 1989  SC  677),  the  right to know(Reliance Petrochemicals Ltd.  Vs. Indian Express Newspapers Bombay Pvt.  Ltd.  AIR 1989  SC  190),  right to open  trial(Kehar Singh Vs. State (Delhi  Admn.) AIR 1988  SC  1883),  inhuman conditions an after-care home(Vikram Deo  Singh Tomar   Vs.  State of  Bihar, AIR 1988 SC 1782).

 

 

95.     A most  remarkable feature of this expansion of Art.21 is that many  of the  non-justiciable  Directive  Principles  embodied  in  Part IV of the  Constitution  have  now  been resurrected as enforceable fundamental rights by the  magic wand  of judicial activism, playing on Art.21 e.g.

(a) Right to pollution-free water  and  air (Subhash Kumar  Vs.

 

 

State of Bihar, AIR 1991 SC 420).

 

 

(b) Right to a reasonable residence (Shantistar Builders Vs.

 

 

Narayan Khimalal Totame AIR 1990 SC 630).

 

 

(c)   Right   to   food   (Supra   note    14),    clothing,   decent environment  (supra  note   20)   and   even   protection  of  cultural heritage  (Ram   Sharan  Autyanuprasi   Vs.  UOI,  AIR  1989   SC

549) .

 

 

(d)  Right  of  every  child  to  a  full  development  (Shantistar

 

 

Builders Vs. Narayan Khimalal Totame AIR 1990 SC 630).

 

 

 

 

(e) Right of residents of hilly-areas to access to roads(State of H.P. Vs. Umed Ram Sharma, AIR 1986 SC 847).

(f) Right to education (Mohini Jain  Vs. State of Karnataka, AIR  1992   SC   1858),   but  not  for  a  professional  degree  (Unni Krishnan J.P. Vs. State of A.P., AIR 1993 SC 2178).

 

 

96.     A corollary  of  this  development  is  that  while  so  long  the negative language of Art.21  and  use of the  word  ‘deprived’ was supposed  to  impose  upon   the   State  the   negative  duty  not  to interfere with the life or liberty of an individual without the sanction of law,   the width and  amplitude of this provision has now imposed a  positive  obligation  (Vincent Panikurlangara Vs. UOI  AIR 1987

SC 990) upon  the State to take  steps for ensuring to the individual a better  enjoyment of his life and dignity, e.g. –

(i) Maintenance  and  improvement  of public  health  (Vincent

 

 

Panikurlangara Vs. UOI AIR 1987 SC 990).

 

 

(ii)  Elimination  of  water  and  air  pollution  (Mehta  M.C.  Vs.

 

 

UOI (1987)  4 SCC 463).

 

 

(iii) Improvement of means of communication (State of H.P.

 

 

Vs. Umed Ram Sharma AIR 1986 SC 847).

 

 

(iv)  Rehabilitation  of  bonded  labourers  (Bandhuva  Mukti

 

 

Morcha  Vs. UOI, AIR 1984 SC 802).

 

 

 

 

(v) Providing human conditions if  prisons (Sher  Singh Vs. State  of   Punjab  AIR  1983   SC   465)   and      protective  homes (Sheela Barse Vs. UOI (1986)  3 SCC 596).

(vi)   Providing   hygienic   condition   in   a    slaughter-house (Buffalo  Traders Welfare Ass. Vs. Maneka  Gandhi (1994)  Suppl (3) SCC 448) .

 

 

97.     The  common golden thread which passes through  all these pronouncements is that  Art.21 guarantees enjoyment of life by all citizens  of this  country  with  dignity,  viewing  this  human rights  in terms of human development.

 

 

98.     The   concepts  of   justice   social,   economic   and   political, equality of status and  of opportunity and  of assuring dignity of the individual incorporated in the Preamble, clearly recognize  the right of  one   and   all  amongst  the   citizens  of  these  basic   essentials designed  to  flower  the   citizen’s  personality  to  its  fullest.  The concept of  equality  helps  the  citizens  in  reaching  their  highest potential.

 

 

99.     Thus,  the emphasis is on the development of an individual in all respects. The  basic  principle of the  dignity and  freedom of the individual   is   common  to  all   nations,   particularly   those  having

 

 

 

 

democratic set up. Democracy requires us to respect and  develop the free spirit of human being which is responsible for all progress in  human  history.  Democracy  is  also  a  method  by  which  we attempt to raise the living standard of the people and to give opportunities to every  person to develop his/her personality. It is founded on peaceful co-existence and  cooperative living. If democracy is  based on  the  recognition  of  the  individuality  and dignity of man,  as a  fortiori we  have  to  recognize the  right of a human being to  choose his sex/gender identity which is integral his/her personality and  is one  of  the  most  basic   aspect of self- determination dignity and freedom. In fact, there  is a growing recognition that the true measure of development of a nation is not economic growth; it is human dignity.

 

 

100.      More than  225  years ago,  Immanuel Kant propounded the doctrine of free will, namely the  free willing individual as a natural law ideal. Without going into the  detail analysis of his aforesaid theory  of justice (as we are  not concerned with the  analysis of his jurisprudence) what  we  want  to point out  is his emphasis on  the “freedom” of human volition.  The concepts of volition and  freedom are    “pure”,   that    is   not   drawn    from   experience.   They    are independent  of any  particular  body  of moral  or  legal  rules.  They

 

 

 

 

are  presuppositions of all such  rules, valid and  necessary for all of them.

 

 

101.      Over  a  period of time, two divergent interpretations of the Kantian criterion of justice came to be  discussed.   One  trend  was an  increasing  stress on  the  maximum   of  individual  freedom  of action  as the  end   of  law.  This  may  not  be  accepted and   was criticized by the protagonist of ‘hedonist utilitarianism’, notably Benthem. This school of thoughts laid emphasis on the  welfare of the  society  rather  than  an  individual  by propounding  the  principle of maximum  of happiness to most  of the people. Fortunately, in the instant case, there  is no  such dichotomy between the    individual freedom/liberty we are  discussing, as against public good.  On the contrary,  granting the right to choose gender leads to public good. The  second tendency of Kantian  criterion  of justice  was found  in re-interpreting   “freedom”   in   terms  not   merely   of   absence  of restraint but in terms of attainment of individual perfection. It is this latter  trend  with  which  we are  concerned in the  present case and this  holds  good   even   today.   As  pointed  out  above,  after  the Second World War, in the form of U.N.Charter and  thereafter there is more  emphasis on the attainment of individual perfection. In that united  sense at  least  there   is  a  revival  of natural  law  theory  of

 

 

 

 

justice.  Blackstone,  in  the   opening  pages  in  his        ‘Vattelian Fashion’  said  that   the   principal  aim  of  society   “is  to  protect individuals in the  enjoyment of those absolute rights which were vested in them  by the immutable laws of nature……”

 

 

102.   In fact, the  recognition that  every  individual has fundamental right to achieve the fullest potential, is founded on the principle that all  round  growth  of an  individual  leads  to  common public  good. After all, human beings are  also valuable asset of any country  who contribute to the growth and  welfare of their nation and  the society. A person who is born  with a particular sex and  his forced to grow up    identifying   with   that    sex,   and    not    a    sex   that    his/her psychological behavior identifies with, faces innumerable obstacles in growing up. In an  article appeared in the  magazine “Eye” of the Sunday Indian Express (March 9-15, 2014)  a person born as a boy but with trappings of female ( who is now a female after SRS)  has narrated these difficulties in the following manner:

 

 

“The  other  children  treated me  as a  boy, but I preferred playing with girls. Unfortunately,    grown-ups   consider   that okay  only as long as you are  a small child. The constant inner conflict made things difficult for me and,  as I grew up, I began to dread social interactions”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

103.      Such  a  person, carrying dual entity simultaneously, would encounter mental and  psychological difficulties which would hinder his/her  normal  mental  and  even   physical  growth.  It  is  not  even easy  for  such   a   person  to  take   a   decision  to  undergo  SRS procedure which requires strong  mental state of affairs. However, once   that   is  decided  and   the   sex  is  changed  in  tune   with psychological  behavior,  it  facilitates  spending  the  life  smoothly. Even the process of transition is not smooth.    The  transition  from a  man  to a  woman  is not  an  overnight process. It is a  “painfully” long procedure that  requires a lot of patience. A person must  first undergo hormone therapy and,  if possible, live as a member of the desired sex for a  while. To  be  eligible for hormone therapy, the person needs at least two psychiatrists to certify that  he  or she is mentally sound, and  schizophrenia, depression and  transvestism have   to  be  ruled out  first. The  psychiatric evaluation involved a serious a questions on how Sunaina felt, when  she  got to know of her  confusion and  need for sex change, whether she  is a recluse, her socio-economic condition, among other  things.

 

 

104.        In the  same article appearing in the  “Eye”   referred to above, the person who had  undergone the operation and  became

 

 

 

 

a  complete  girl,  Sunaina  (name changed) narrates  the  benefit which  ensued because of  change in  sex, in  harmony with  her emotional  and   psychological  character, as  is  clear   from  the following passage in that article:

“Like many  other  single people in the  city, she can  spend hours watching Friends, and  reading thrillers and  Harry  Potter.        A new  happiness has taken  seed in her  and  she  says it does not feel  that  she   ever   had   a  male  body.  “I  am  a person  who   likes  to   laugh.  Till   my   surgery, behind   every    smile   of   mine,   there    was   a struggle. Now it’s about  time that  I  laughed for real. I have  never  had  a  relationship in my life, because  somewhere, I   always  wanted  to  be treated as a girl.    Now, that I am a woman, I am open   to  a  new  life,  new  relationships.  I  don’t have  to hide anymore, I don’t feel trapped anymore.  I   love  coding  and   my   job.  I   love cooking.  I am  learning French and  when  my left foot recovers fully,  I plan  to learn  dancing. And, for the first time this year,  I will vote with my new name. I am looking forward to that,” she  says.

 

 

 

105.        If a  person has changed his/her sex in tune  with his/her gender characteristics and  perception ,which has become possible because of the advancement in medical science, and  when  that  is permitted  by in  medical  ethics  with  no  legal  embargo, we  do  not find  any  impediment,  legal  or otherwise,  in  giving  due  recognition to the  gender identity based on the  reassign sex after undergoing SRS.

 

 

 

 

106.      For  these reasons, we  are  of the  opinion that  even  in the absence of any  statutory regime in this country,  a  person has a constitutional right to get  the  recognition as male or female after SRS,   which  was not  only  his/her  gender characteristic  but  has become his/her physical form as well.

(2) Re: Right of TG to be  identified and  categorized as “third gender”.

 

 

107.     At the outset, it may be clarified that the term ‘transgender’ is used in a wider sense, in the  present age.  Even  Gay,  Lesbian, bisexual  are   included  by  the  descriptor  ‘transgender’. Etymologically, the  term  ‘transgender’ is derived from two words, namely  ‘trans’  and  ‘gender’.  Former  is  a Latin  word  which  means

‘across’ or  ‘beyond’.  The  grammatical  meaning of  ‘transgender’, therefore, is across or beyond gender. This has come  to be known as umbrella  term  which  includes  Gay  men,  Lesbians,  bisexuals, and  cross dressers within  its  scope. However, while  dealing  with the  present issue we  are  not  concerned with this aforesaid wider meaning of the expression transgender.

 

 

108.       It  is  to  be  emphasized  that  Transgender in  India  have assumed  distinct   and    separate   class/category  which   is   not

 

 

 

 

prevalent in other  parts of the  World except in some neighbouring countries .   In this country,  TG community comprise of   Hijaras, enunch, Kothis, Aravanis, Jogappas, Shiv-Shakthis etc.   In Indian community transgender are  referred as Hizra or the third gendered people. There  exists wide range of transgender-related identities, cultures, or experience –including Hijras, Aravanis, Kothis, jogtas/Jogappas,  and   Shiv-Shakthis  (Hijras:  They  are   biological males who reject their masculinity identity in due  course of time to identify  either  as women, or  ‘not  men’.  Aravanis:  Hijras  in  Tamil Nadu  identify as ‘Aravani’. Kothi: Kothis are  heterogeneous group. Kothis  can  be  described  as biological  males  who  show  varying degrees of ‘feminity’. Jogtas/Jogappas: They  are  those who  are dedicated to serve as servant of Goddess Renukha Devi whose temples are  present in Maharashtra and  Karnataka. Sometimes, Jogti Hijras are  used to denote such  male-to-female transgender persons who are  devotees of Goddess Renukha and  are  also from the Hijra community. Shiv-Shakthis: They are  considered as males who are  possessed by or particularly close to a goddess and  who have  feminine gender expression). The way they behave and  acts differs from the  normative gender role of a  men  and  women. For them,   furthering  life  is  far  more   difficult  since   such people  are

 

 

 

 

neither categorized as men  nor women  and  this deviation is unacceptable to  society’s  vast  majority.  Endeavour to  live a  life with dignity is even  worse. Obviously transvestites, the  hijra beg from  merchants  who   quickly,  under   threat   of  obscene  abuse, respond to  the  silent demands of such  detested individuals. On occasion, especially festival days,  they press their claims with boisterous  and   ribald  singing  and   dancing.(  A  Right  to  Exist: Eunuchs and  the  State in Nineteenth-Century India Laurence W. Preston Modern  Asian  Studies,  Vol.21,No.2  (1987),  pp.371-387).

 

 

 

 

 

109.      Therefore, we  make   it  clear  at  the  outset that  when  we discuss about  the  question of conferring distinct identity, we  are restrictive in our meaning which has to be  given to TG community i.e. hijra etc., as explained above.

 

 

110.       Their  historical  background  and   individual  scenario  has been stated in  detail  in  the  accompanying  judgment  rendered by my learned  Brother.  Few  things  which  follow  from  this  discussion are summed up below:

“(a)  Though   in  the  past   TG  in  India  was treated with great   respect, that  does not  remain  the  scenario  any longer.  Attrition  in  their  status  was triggered  with  the

 

 

 

 

passing of the  Criminal Tribes Act, 1871  which deemed the   entire   community   of  Hijara   persons as  innately

‘criminal’ and  ‘adapted to the  systematic commission of non-bailable  offences’.  This  dogmatism  and indoctrination  of  Indian  people  with  aforesaid presumption, was totally capricious and  nefarious. There could   not   have    been  more    harm    caused  to   this community with the passing of the aforesaid brutal Legislation during British Regime with the  vicious and savage this mind set. To  add  insult to  the  irreparable injury  caused, Section  377  of  the  Indian  Penal  Code was misused and  abused as there  was a  tendency, in British period, to arrest and prosecute TG persons under Section 377 merely on suspicion. To undergo this sordid historical  harm  caused to TGs of India,  there  is  a need for incessant efforts with effervescence.

 

 

(b) There  may  have  been marginal improvement in the social and  economic condition of TGs  in India. It is still far  from  satisfactory  and   these  TGs continue  to  face different kinds of economic blockade and social degradation. They still face multiple forms of oppression in this country.  Discrimination qua them is clearly discernable in various fields including health care, employment, education, social cohesion etc.

 

 

(c) The  TGs are  also citizens of this country.  They  also have  equal right to achieve their full potential as human beings.  For  this  purpose, not  only  they  are  entitled  to

 

 

 

 

proper   education, social assimilation, access to  public and  other  places but employment opportunities as well. The  discussion above while dealing with the  first issue, therefore, equally applies to this issue as well.

 

 

111.      We are  of the firm opinion that by recognizing such  TGs as third gender, they  would be  able to  enjoy their human rights, to which they  are  largely deprived of for want  of this recognition. As mentioned  above, the  issue  of transgender is  not merely  a social or  medical  issue  but   there   is  a   need  to  adopt   human  right approach towards transgenders which may focus on functioning as an interaction between a person and  their environment highlighting the role of society  and  changing the stigma attached to them.  TGs face many  disadvantages due  to various reasons, particularly for gender abnormality which in certain level needs to  physical and mental disability. Up till recently they were  subjected to cruelty, pity or charity. Fortunately, there  is a paradigm shift in thinking from the aforesaid approach to a rights based approach. Though, this may be  the  thinking of human rights activist, the  society has not  kept pace with this shift. There  appears to be  limited public knowledge and   understanding  of  same-sex  sexual  orientation  and   people whose gender identity and  expression are  incongruent with their biological  sex.  As a  result  of  this  approach, such   persons are

 

 

 

 

socially excluded from the  mainstream of the  society  and  they  are denied  equal  access to  those fundamental  rights  and  freedoms that    the    other    people   enjoy   freely.(See,   Hijras/Transgender Women  in India: HIV, Human  Rights and  Social Exclusion, UNDP report on India Issue: December, 2010).

 

 

 

112.          Some   of   the    common   and    reported   problem   that transgender most  commonly  suffer  are:  harassment by the  police in  public  places,  harassment at  home, police  entrapment, rape, discriminations,  abuse in  public  places  et.al.    The  other   major problems that  the  transgender people face in their daily life are discrimination,   lack   of   educational   facilities,   lack   of   medical facilities, homelessness, unemployment, depression, hormone pill abuse,  tobacco  and   alcohol  abuse,  and   problems  related  to marriage and adoption. In spite of the adoption of Universal Declaration  of  Human   Rights  (UDHR)  in  the   year   1948,   the inherent dignity, equality, respect and  rights of all human beings throughout  the  world,  the  transgender are   denied  basic   human rights. This denial is premised on a prevalent juridical assumption that   the   law  should  target   discrimination  based  on   sex  (i.e., whether a  person is    anatomically  male  or  female),  rather   than

 

 

 

 

gender (i.e., whether a  person has qualities that  society  consider masculine  or feminine  (Katherine  M.Franke, The  Central  Mistake of   Sex   Discrimination   Law:   the   Disaggregation   of   Sex   from Gender, 144  U.Pa.Rev.1,3 (1995)  (arguing that  by defining sex in biological terms,  the law has failed to distinguish sex from gender, and  sexual  differentiation  from  sex discrimination).  Transgender people are  generally excluded from the  society  and  people think transgenderism  as a  medical  disease.  Much  like  the  disability, which  in  earlier  times  was considered as an  illness  but  later  on looked  upon  as a  right  based  approach. The  question  whether transgenderism   is   a   disease   is   hotly   debated  in   both   the transgender and  medical-psychiatric communities. But a prevalent view  regarding  this  is  that  transgenderism  is  not  a  disease  at  all, but a benign normal variant of the  human experience akin to left- handedness.

 

 

113.      Therefore, gender identification becomes very essential component which is required for enjoying civil rights by this community. It is only with this recognition that many rights attached to  the  sexual  recognition  as ‘third  gender’  would  be  available  to this community more  meaningfully viz. the right to vote,  the right to own property, the right to marry,  the right to claim a formal identity

 

 

 

 

through  a passport and  a ration card,  a driver’s license, the right to education, employment, health so on.

 

 

114.      Further,  there  seems to be  no  reason why a  transgender must  be  denied of basic  human rights which includes Right to life and    liberty   with   dignity,   Right   to   Privacy   and    freedom   of expression, Right to Education and  Empowerment, Right against violence,  Right  against  Exploitation  and   Right  against Discrimination. Constitution has fulfilled its duty of providing rights to  transgenders.   Now  it’s  time  for  us to  recognize  this  and  to extend and  interpret the Constitution in such a manner to ensure a dignified life of transgender people.  All this can  be achieved if the beginning is made with the recognition that TG as third gender.

 

 

115.     In order  to translate the  aforesaid rights of TGs into reality, it becomes imperative to first assign them  their proper  ‘sex’. As is stated earlier, at the  time of birth of a child itself, sex is assigned. However, it is either male or female. In the process, the society  as well as law, has completely ignored the  basic  human right of TGs to give them  their appropriate sex categorization. Up to now,  they have   either  been treated as  male  or  female.  This  is  not  only improper  as it is far  from truth,  but indignified to these    TGs and

 

 

 

 

violates their human rights.

 

 

 

116.      Though  there  may not be any statutory regime recognizing

 

 

‘third gender’ for these TGs.  However, we find enough justification to recognize this right of theirs in natural law sphere. Further,  such a justification can  be  traced to the  various provisions contained in Part   III  of  the  Constitution  relating  to  ‘Fundamental  Rights’.  In addition to the powerful justification accomplished in the accompanying opinion of my esteemed Brother,  additional raison d’etre for this conclusion is stated hereinafter.

 

 

117.      We are  in the  age  of democracy, that  too substantive and liberal democracy. Such  a  democracy is not  based solely on  the rule of people through  their representatives’ namely formal democracy. It  also has other  percepts like Rule of Law,  human rights, independence of judiciary, separation of powers etc.

 

 

118.        There   is  a  recognition  to  the   hard   realty  that   without protection for human rights there   can  be  no  democracy and  no justification  for democracy. In this  scenario,  while  working  within the  realm  of separation  of powers (which  is  also  fundamental  to the  substantive  democracy), the  judicial  role  is  not only  to decide the  dispute  before  the  Court,  but  to  uphold  the  rule  of law  and

 

 

 

 

ensure access to justice to the marginalized section of the society. It  cannot  be  denied  that  TGs  belong  to  the  unprivileged  class which is a marginalized section.

 

 

119.    The  role  of the  Court  is  to understand the  central  purpose and  theme of the  Constitution for the  welfare of the  society.  Our Constitution, like the  law of the  society,  is a living organism.   It is based on  a  factual and  social realty that  is constantly changing. Sometimes a  change in the  law precedes societal change and  is even  intended  to stimulate  it. Sometimes,  a  change in  the  law  is the result in the social realty. When  we discuss about  the rights of TGs in  the  constitutional  context,   we  find  that  in  order  to  bring about  complete paradigm shift, law has to play more  pre-dominant role. As TGs in India, are  neither male nor female, treating them  as belonging  to  either  of  the  aforesaid  categories,  is  the  denial  of these constitutional rights. It is the  denial of social justice which in turn has the effect of denying political and economic justice.

 

 

120.    In Dattatraya Govind Mahajan  vs.  State of  Maharashtra

 

 

(AIR 1977 SC 915) this Court observed:

 

 

“Our   Constitution   is   a    tryst    with destiny, preamble with luscent solemnity in the  words ‘Justice –  social, economic  and political.’    The    three    great    branches   of

 

 

 

 

Government, as  creatures  of  the Constitution, must  remember this promise in their fundamental role and  forget it at  their peril, for to do so will be a betrayal of chose high values and  goals which this nation set for  itself  in  its  objective  Resolution  and whose elaborate summation appears in Part IV of the Paramount Parchment. The history of our  country’s struggle for  independence was the story of a battle between the forces of   socio-economic   exploitation   and    the masses   of   deprived   people   of   varying degrees and  the  Constitution sets the  new sights of  the  nation…..Once  we  grasp the dharma of  the  Constitution,  the  new orientation of the karma  of adjudication becomes clear.  Our founding fathers, aware of  our  social  realities,  forged  our  fighting faith and integrating justice in its social, economic and  political aspects. While contemplating the meaning of the Articles of the  Organic Law,  the  Supreme Court  shall not disown Social Justice.”

 

 

 

121.       Oliver  Wendlle  Holmes  said:  “the  life  of  law  has been logical;  it has been experience”.   It may  be  added that  ‘the  life  of law  is  not  just  logic  or  experience.  The  life  of law  is  renewable based on  experience  and  logic,  which  adapted law  to  the  new social realty’. Recognizing this fact, the aforesaid provisions of the Constitution are  required to be  given new  and  dynamic meaning with the  inclusion of rights of TGs as well. In this process, the first and  foremost  right  is to recognize  TGs as ‘third  gender’  in law as well.  This  is  a  recognition  of  their  right  of  equality  enshrined  in

 

 

 

 

Art.14 as well as their human right to life with dignity, which is the mandate of the  Art.21 of the  Constitution. This interpretation is in consonance with new social needs. By doing so, this Court is only bridging the  gap  between the  law and  life and  that  is the  primary role  of  the   Court   in  a   democracy.  It  only  amounts  to  giving purposive interpretation to the  aforesaid provisions of the Constitution  so  that  it  can  adapt to  the  changes in  realty.  Law without purpose has no  raison d’etre. The  purpose of law is the evolution of a happy  society.  As Justice Iyer has aptly put:

 

 

“The   purpose  of   law   is   the establishment of the welfare of society “and a society  whose members enjoy welfare  and   happiness  may   be described   as  a   just   society.    It   is   a negation of justice to say that some members,  some  groups,  some minorities, some individuals do not have welfare:  on  the  other   hand   they  suffer from ill-fare. So it is axiomatic that law, if it   is   to   fulfil   itself,   must    produce  a contented, dynamic  society   which  is at once  meting out justice to its members.”

 

 

 

122.   It is now very well recognized that the Constitution is a living character;   its   interpretation   must    be    dynamic.   It    must    be understood in  a  way  that  intricate  and  advances  modern realty. The judiciary is the guardian of the Constitution and  by ensuring to

 

 

 

 

grant  legitimate  right  that  is  due  to TGs,  we  are  simply  protecting the Constitution and  the democracy inasmuch as judicial protection and  democracy in general and  of human rights in particular is a characteristic of our vibrant democracy.

 

 

123.      As we  have   pointed out  above, our  Constitution inheres liberal and  substantive democracy with  rule of law as an important and  fundamental pillar. It has its own  internal morality based on dignity  and  equality  of  all  human beings.  Rule  of  law  demands protection  of  individual  human  rights.     Such   rights  are   to  be guaranteed to  each and  every  human being.  These TGs,  even though    insignificant  in  numbers,  are   still   human  beings  and therefore they have  every right to enjoy their human rights.

 

 

124.        In  National   Human    Rights   Commission   vs.  State  of

Arunachal Pradesh (AIR 1996 SC 1234),  This Court observed: “We  are   a  country  governed  by  the

Rule   of   Law.   Our   Constitution   confers certain  rights  on  every  human being  and

certain    other    rights    on   citizens.   Every person is entitled to equality before the  law

and equal protection of the laws.”

 

 

 

125.     The rule of law is not merely public order.   The rule of law is social  justice  based on  public  order.   The  law  exists  to  ensure

 

 

 

 

proper  social life. Social life, however, is not a goal in itself but a means to  allow the  individual to  life in dignity and  development himself.   The    human   being   and    human   rights   underlie   this substantive perception of the  rule of law, with a  proper   balance among  the  different  rights  and   between  human  rights  and   the proper  needs of society.  The  substantive rule of law “is the  rule of proper    law,   which   balances   the   needs  of   society    and    the individual.” This is the  rule of law that  strikes a  balance between society’s need for political independence, social equality, economic development, and  internal order,  on the  one  hand, and  the  needs of the individual, his personal liberty, and  his human dignity on the other.  It is the  duty of the  Court  to protect  this rich concept of the rule of law.

 

 

126.      By recognizing  TGs as third  gender, this  Court  is  not only upholding the rule of law but also advancing justice to the class, so far  deprived  of their  legitimate  natural  and  constitutional  rights.  It is, therefore, the only just solution which ensures justice not only to TGs but also justice to the  society as well. Social justice does not mean equality before law in papers but to translate the spirit of the Constitution, enshrined in the  Preamble, the  Fundamental Rights and  the Directive Principles of State Policy into action, whose arms

 

 

 

 

are  long enough to bring within its reach and  embrace this right of recognition to the TGs which legitimately belongs to them.

 

 

127.      Aristotle opined that  treating all equal things equal and  all unequal  things  unequal  amounts to justice.  Kant  was of the  view that  at  the  basis of  all  conceptions  of  justice,  no  matter   which culture or religion has inspired them,  lies the  golden rule that  you should   treat    others  as  you   would   want   everybody  to   treat everybody else, including yourself. When Locke conceived of individual   liberties,   the    individuals   he    had    in   mind   were independently rich males. Similarly, Kant  thought  of economically self-sufficient males as the only possible citizens of a liberal democratic state. These theories may  not  be  relevant in today’s context  as it is perceived that the bias of their perspective is all too obvious  to  us.   In  post-traditional  liberal  democratic  theories  of justice,  the  background assumption  is  that  humans have   equal value  and  should,  therefore,  be  treated as equal,  as well  as by equal laws. This can  be  described as ‘Reflective Equilibrium’. The method of  Reflective Equilibrium was first introduced by  Nelson Goodman in  ‘Fact,  Fiction  and  Forecast’  (1955).   However,  it  is John  Rawls  who  elaborated  this  method of Reflective  Equilibrium by  introducing   the   conception   of  ‘Justice   as  Fairness’.   In  his

 

 

 

 

‘Theory of Justice’, Rawls has proposed a model of just institutions for   democratic   societies.   Herein   he    draws   on   certain   pre- theoretical   elementary   moral   beliefs   (‘considered   judgments’), which he  assumes most  members of democratic societies would accept. “[Justice as fairness [….] tries to draw  solely upon  basic intuitive ideas that  are  embedded in the  political institutions of a constitutional democratic regime and  the  public traditions of their interpretations. Justice as fairness is a political conception in part because it starts from within  a certain political tradition. Based on this preliminary understanding of just institutions in a  democratic society,  Rawls aims at a set of universalistic rules with the  help of which the justice of present formal and  informal institutions can  be assessed. The  ensuing conception of justice is called ‘justice as fairness’.    When    we   combine   Rawls’s   notion   of   Justice   as Fairness with the  notions of Distributive Justice, to  which Noble Laureate Prof. Amartya  Sen  has also subscribed, we get jurisprudential  basis for  doing  justice  to  the  Vulnerable  Groups which definitely include TGs.  Once  it is accepted that  the  TGs are also  part  of  vulnerable  groups and   marginalized  section  of  the society,   we  are   only  bringing  them   within  the  fold  of  aforesaid rights   recognized   in   respect  of   other    classes  falling   in   the

 

 

 

 

marginalized group.  This is the  minimum riposte in an  attempt to assuage the         insult  and  injury  suffered  by  them  so  far  as to pave  way for fast tracking the realization of their human rights.

 

 

128.      The  aforesaid,  thus,  are  my  reasons for treating  TGs as

 

 

‘third gender’ for the purposes of safeguarding and enforcing appropriately their rights guaranteed under  the Constitution. These are  my reasons in support of our Constitution to the  two issues in these petitions.

 

 

 

…………………….J.

(A.K.Sikri)

 

 

 

 

 

129.      We, therefore, declare:

 

 

(1) Hijras,  Eunuchs, apart  from  binary  gender, be  treated as “third gender” for the  purpose of safeguarding their rights under  Part  III of  our  Constitution and  the  laws made by the Parliament and the State Legislature.

(2) Transgender persons’ right to decide their self-identified gender is also upheld and  the Centre and State Governments are  directed to grant  legal recognition of their gender identity such  as male, female or as third gender.

(3)  We  direct  the  Centre and  the  State  Governments to take  steps to treat  them  as socially  and  educationally

 

 

 

 

backward classes  of citizens and  extend all kinds of reservation in cases of admission in educational institutions and for public appointments.

(4) Centre and  State Governments are  directed to operate separate HIV  Sero-survellance  Centres since   Hijras/ Transgenders face several sexual health issues.

(5)   Centre   and    State   Governments  should   seriously address the  problems  being  faced  by Hijras/Transgenders such  as fear, shame, gender dysphoria, social pressure, depression, suicidal tendencies, social stigma, etc.  and  any  insistence for SRS  for declaring one’s gender is immoral and illegal.

(6)  Centre  and   State  Governments should  take   proper measures  to   provide  medical  care   to   TGs  in  the hospitals and  also provide them  separate public toilets and other  facilities.

(7) Centre and  State Governments should  also  take  steps for  framing  various  social  welfare  schemes for  their betterment.

(8)  Centre and  State  Governments should  take  steps to create public awareness so that  TGs will feel that  they are  also part  and  parcel of the  social life and  be  not treated as untouchables.

(9)   Centre and  the  State Governments should also take measures  to  regain  their  respect  and   place  in  the society   which  once   they  enjoyed  in  our  cultural  and social life.

 

 

 

 

130.      We  are  informed an  Expert  Committee has already been constituted to make  an in-depth study  of the problems faced by the Transgender community and  suggest measures that  can  be  taken by the  Government to ameliorate their problems and  to submit its report with recommendations within three  months of its constitution. Let   the   recommendations   be   examined   based  on   the   legal declaration made in this Judgment and implemented within six months.

 

 

131.       Writ Petitions are,  accordingly, allowed, as above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…..………………………J. (K.S. Radhakrishnan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Delhi, April 15, 2014.

 

………………………….J. (A.K. Sikri)

 

 

 

 

ITEM NO.1A (For Judgment)  COURT NO.7    SECTION PIL

 

S U P R E M E   C O U R T   O F  I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

 

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO(s). 400 OF 2012

 

NATIONAL LEGAL SER. AUTH.                Petitioner(s) VERSUS

UNION OF INDIA & ORS.                    Respondent(s) WITH W.P(C) NO. 604 of 2013

 

Date: 15/04/2014   These matters were called on for pronouncement of judgment.

 

For Petitioner(s)  Ms. Anitha Shenoy,AOR Ms. Manju Jetley,AOR

For Respondent(s)  Mr. V.N. Raghupathy,AOR

 

Mr. Suryanarayana Singh,AAG Mr. Aviral Saxena,Adv.

Ms. Pragati Neekhra,AOR

 

Dr. Manish Singhvi,Adv. Mr. Irshad Ahmad,Adv.

 

Mr. V.G. Pragasam,AOR

 

Mr. Manjit Singh,AAG, Haryana

Mrs. Vivekta Singh,Adv. Mrs. Nupur Chaudhary,Adv. Mr. Tarjit Singh,Adv.

Mr. Kamal Mohan Gupta,AOR

 

Mr. D.S. Mahra,AOR Mr. Gopal Singh,AOR

Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat,AOR Mr. P.V. Yogeswaran,AOR

Mr. Anip Sachthey,AOR

Mr. Aniruddha P. Mayee,AOR Mr. Sunil Fernandes,AOR

Mr. Abhishek Atrey,AOR

Mr. Jogy Scaria,AOR

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Mishra Saurabh,AOR Ms. Vanshaja Shukla,Adv.

 

M/s. Corporate Law Group,AOR Mrs. Kirti Renu Mishra,AOR M/s. Arputham,Aruna & Co.,AOR Mr. Anil Shrivastav,AOR

Ms. Asha Gopalan Nair,AOR Mr. B. Balaji,AOR

 

Mr. Sapam Biswajit Meitei,Adv. Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh,AOR

 

Mrs. K. Enatoli Sema,Adv. Mr. Amit Kumar Singh,Adv.

 

Mr. Balasubramanian,Adv. Mr. K.V. Jagdishvaran,Adv. Ms. G. Indira,AOR

Ms. Hemantika Wahi,AOR Mr. Mihir,Adv.

Ms. Tripti Tandon,Adv.

Mr. Amritananda Ch.,Adv. Mr. Mukesh Kumar,Adv.

Ms. Filza Moonis,Adv.

 

Ms. A. Subhashini,Adv.

 

 

 

Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.K. Sikri pronounced concurring views in the judgment of the Bench comprising their Lordships.

The  writ  petitions  are  allowed  in

 

terms of the signed judgment.

 

 

 

 

(Narendra Prasad) Court Master

 

(Renuka Sadana) Court Master

 

 

(Signed "Reportable" judgment is placed on the file)