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National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India

Head Note

Supreme Court of India 15 Apr 2014

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Held - &amp;quot;Trans-gender persons&amp;quot; to be persons of &amp;quot;third gender&amp;quot; -&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;(1) Hijras, Eunuchs, apart from binary gender, be treated as &amp;ldquo;third gender&amp;rdquo; 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&amp;rsquo; 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.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;We direct the Centre and the State Governments to take steps to treat them as socially and educationally 110 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&amp;rsquo;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.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

Detailed Summary

REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO.400 OF 2012 National Legal Services Authority&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&hellip; Petitioner Versus Union of India and others&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&hellip; Respondents WITH WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO.604 OF 2013 J&nbsp;U D G M E N T K.S.&nbsp;Radhakrishnan, J. 1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Seldom, our&nbsp; society &nbsp;realizes or cares to realize the &nbsp;trauma, agony&nbsp; &nbsp;and &nbsp;pain which&nbsp; the &nbsp;members of Transgender community undergo, nor appreciates the innate feelings of the members of the Transgender community, especially of those whose mind and &nbsp;body disown their biological sex. &nbsp;Our society &nbsp;often ridicules and&nbsp; abuses the&nbsp; &nbsp;Transgender &nbsp;community&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;public&nbsp; &nbsp;places&nbsp; &nbsp;like&nbsp; &nbsp;railway&nbsp;stations,&nbsp; &nbsp;bus&nbsp;&nbsp; stands,&nbsp; &nbsp;schools,&nbsp; &nbsp;workplaces,&nbsp; &nbsp;malls,&nbsp; &nbsp;theatres, hospitals,&nbsp; &nbsp;they&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;sidelined&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;treated &nbsp;as&nbsp;&nbsp; untouchables, forgetting the fact that the moral failure lies in the society&rsquo;s unwillingness to contain or embrace different gender identities and expressions, a mindset which we have &nbsp;to change. 2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;We &nbsp;are, &nbsp;in this case, concerned with the &nbsp;grievances of the members of Transgender Community &nbsp;(for short &lsquo;TG &nbsp;community&rsquo;) who seek a legal declaration of their gender identity than &nbsp;the&nbsp; one assigned to&nbsp; them, &nbsp;male or &nbsp;female, at &nbsp;the &nbsp;time of birth and &nbsp;their prayer&nbsp; &nbsp;is &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; non-recognition &nbsp;of &nbsp;their &nbsp;gender &nbsp;identity &nbsp;violates Articles 14 &nbsp;and &nbsp;21 &nbsp;of the &nbsp;Constitution of India.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hijras/Eunuchs, who also fall in that group, &nbsp;claim legal status as a third gender with all legal and constitutional protection. 3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The&nbsp; National Legal Services Authority, constituted under &nbsp;the Legal &nbsp;Services &nbsp;Authority &nbsp;Act, 1997, &nbsp;to provide &nbsp;free &nbsp;legal &nbsp;services to the&nbsp; weaker and &nbsp;other &nbsp;marginalized sections of the &nbsp;society, &nbsp;has come &nbsp;forward &nbsp;to advocate their &nbsp;cause, by filing Writ Petition &nbsp;No.400&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;2012.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Poojaya&nbsp; &nbsp;Mata&nbsp; &nbsp;Nasib&nbsp; &nbsp;Kaur&nbsp; &nbsp;Ji &nbsp;Women&nbsp; &nbsp;Welfare&nbsp;Society, &nbsp;a &nbsp;registered &nbsp;association, &nbsp;has also &nbsp;preferred &nbsp;Writ &nbsp;Petition No. 604 of 2013, &nbsp;seeking similar reliefs in respect of Kinnar community, a TG community. 4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Laxmi Narayan Tripathy, claimed to be &nbsp;a Hijra, has also got impleaded &nbsp;so&nbsp; &nbsp;as &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; effectively &nbsp;put&nbsp; &nbsp;across &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;cause &nbsp;of &nbsp;the members of the transgender community and&nbsp; Tripathy&rsquo;s life experiences also for recognition of their identity as a third gender, over&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;above &nbsp;male &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;female.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Tripathy &nbsp;says &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;non- recognition of the &nbsp;identity of Hijras, a &nbsp;TG&nbsp; community, as a &nbsp;third gender, &nbsp;denies them &nbsp;the right of equality before the law and&nbsp; equal protection &nbsp;of law &nbsp;guaranteed under &nbsp;Article &nbsp;14 &nbsp;of the &nbsp;Constitution and &nbsp;violates the&nbsp; rights guaranteed to them &nbsp;under &nbsp;Article 21 of the Constitution of India. 5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shri Raju Ramachandran, learned senior counsel appearing for&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; petitioner&nbsp; &nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; National&nbsp; &nbsp;Legal&nbsp; &nbsp;Services&nbsp; &nbsp;Authority, highlighted the traumatic experiences faced by the members of the TG community and &nbsp;submitted that every &nbsp;person of that community has a legal right to decide their sex orientation and &nbsp;to espouse and determine &nbsp;their &nbsp;identity.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Learned&nbsp; senior &nbsp;counsel&nbsp; has submitted that since &nbsp;the TGs are &nbsp;neither treated as male or female, nor given the status of a third gender, they are &nbsp;being deprived of many &nbsp;of the&nbsp;rights and &nbsp;privileges which other &nbsp;persons enjoy as citizens of this country.&nbsp; &nbsp;TGs are &nbsp;deprived of social and&nbsp; cultural participation and hence &nbsp;restricted &nbsp;access&nbsp; to &nbsp;education, &nbsp;health &nbsp;care&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;public places &nbsp;which &nbsp;deprives &nbsp;them&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;Constitutional &nbsp;guarantee&nbsp; of equality &nbsp;before &nbsp;law &nbsp;and &nbsp;equal &nbsp;protection &nbsp;of laws.&nbsp; &nbsp;Further, &nbsp;it was also pointed out&nbsp; that &nbsp;the &nbsp;community also faces discrimination to contest election, &nbsp;right&nbsp; to &nbsp;vote, &nbsp;employment, &nbsp;to &nbsp;get &nbsp;licences&nbsp; etc. and, &nbsp;in &nbsp;effect, &nbsp;treated as an &nbsp;outcast and &nbsp;untouchable.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Learned senior counsel also submitted that&nbsp; the&nbsp; State cannot discriminate them &nbsp;on the ground &nbsp;of gender, violating Articles 14 to 16 and &nbsp;21 of the Constitution of India. 6.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shri Anand &nbsp;Grover, &nbsp;learned senior counsel appearing for the Intervener, &nbsp;traced the &nbsp;historical &nbsp;background&nbsp; of &nbsp;the &nbsp;third &nbsp;gender identity in India and &nbsp;the &nbsp;position accorded to&nbsp; them &nbsp;in the &nbsp;Hindu Mythology, Vedic and &nbsp;Puranic literatures, and &nbsp;the&nbsp; prominent role played &nbsp;by &nbsp;them&nbsp; &nbsp;in &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; royal &nbsp;courts &nbsp;of &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Islamic &nbsp;world &nbsp;etc. Reference &nbsp;was also &nbsp;made to &nbsp;the &nbsp;repealed &nbsp;Criminal &nbsp;Tribes &nbsp;Act,&nbsp;1871&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp;&nbsp; explained &nbsp;the &nbsp;inhuman &nbsp;manner&nbsp; by &nbsp;which &nbsp;they &nbsp;were treated at &nbsp;the &nbsp;time of&nbsp; the &nbsp;British Colonial rule.&nbsp; &nbsp;Learned senior counsel also submitted that various International Forums and&nbsp; U.N. Bodies &nbsp;have &nbsp;recognized &nbsp;their &nbsp;gender identity &nbsp;and &nbsp;referred &nbsp;to the Yogyakarta Principles and &nbsp;pointed out&nbsp; that &nbsp;those principles have been&nbsp; &nbsp;recognized&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; by&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;various&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; countries&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; around&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;world. Reference was also made to few legislations giving recognition to the&nbsp;&nbsp; trans-sexual &nbsp;persons &nbsp;in &nbsp;other&nbsp; &nbsp;countries.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Learned &nbsp;senior counsel &nbsp;also &nbsp;submitted &nbsp;that &nbsp;non-recognition &nbsp;of gender identity &nbsp;of the&nbsp; transgender community violates the &nbsp;fundamental rights guaranteed to them, &nbsp;who are&nbsp; citizens of this country. 7.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Shri &nbsp;T. Srinivasa &nbsp;Murthy, &nbsp;learned &nbsp;counsel &nbsp;appearing &nbsp;in &nbsp;I.A. No. &nbsp;2 &nbsp;of &nbsp;2013,&nbsp;&nbsp; submitted &nbsp;that &nbsp;transgender persons have&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;be declared as&nbsp; a &nbsp;socially &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;educationally &nbsp;backward classes &nbsp;of citizens and&nbsp; must &nbsp;be accorded all benefits available to that class of persons, which are&nbsp; being extended to male and&nbsp; female genders. Learned&nbsp; counsel&nbsp; also&nbsp; submitted &nbsp;that &nbsp;the &nbsp;right&nbsp; to &nbsp;choose one&rsquo;s gender identity is integral to&nbsp; the &nbsp;right to&nbsp; lead a &nbsp;life with dignity, which &nbsp;is &nbsp;undoubtedly &nbsp;guaranteed by Article &nbsp;21 of the &nbsp;Constitution of &nbsp;India.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Learned &nbsp;counsel, &nbsp;therefore, &nbsp;submitted &nbsp;that, &nbsp;subject &nbsp;to such &nbsp;rules/regulations/protocols, transgender persons may be afforded the&nbsp; right of choice to determine whether to opt for male, female or transgender classification. 8.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shri Sanjeev Bhatnagar, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner in Writ Petition No.604 &nbsp;of 2013, &nbsp;highlighted the&nbsp; cause of the&nbsp; &nbsp;Kinnar &nbsp;community &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;submitted &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; they&nbsp;&nbsp; are&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;most deprived group &nbsp;of transgenders and &nbsp;calls for constitutional as well as legal protection for their identity and &nbsp;for other &nbsp;socio-economic benefits, &nbsp;which &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;otherwise &nbsp;extended&nbsp; to &nbsp;the &nbsp;members of &nbsp;the male and female genders in the community. 9.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shri Rakesh K. Khanna, learned Additional Solicitor General, appearing for the Union of India, submitted that the problems highlighted&nbsp; by &nbsp;the &nbsp;transgender community is&nbsp; a &nbsp;sensitive human issue, which calls for serious attention. &nbsp;Learned ASG pointed out that, under &nbsp;the aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (for short &nbsp;&ldquo;MOSJE&rdquo;), a&nbsp; Committee, called &ldquo;Expert Committee&nbsp; &nbsp;on&nbsp; &nbsp;Issues&nbsp;&nbsp; relating&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;Transgender&rdquo;,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;has &nbsp;been constituted to conduct an in-depth study&nbsp; of the problems relating to transgender persons&nbsp; to &nbsp;make&nbsp; &nbsp;appropriate &nbsp;recommendations &nbsp;to MOSJE.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Shri &nbsp;Khanna &nbsp;also &nbsp;submitted &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; due&nbsp; &nbsp;representation would also be &nbsp;given to the &nbsp;applicants, appeared before this Court in the Committee, so that their views also could be heard. 10.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We also heard learned counsel appearing for various States and &nbsp;Union&nbsp; Territories&nbsp; who &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;explained&nbsp; the &nbsp;steps they &nbsp;have taken &nbsp;to improve the&nbsp; conditions and &nbsp;status of the&nbsp; members of TG community in their respective States and &nbsp;Union Territories.&nbsp; &nbsp;Laxmi Narayan &nbsp;Tripathy, &nbsp;a &nbsp;Hijra, &nbsp;through&nbsp; &nbsp;a &nbsp;petition &nbsp;supported&nbsp; by &nbsp;an affidavit, highlighted the trauma undergone by Tripathy from Tripathy&rsquo;s birth.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Rather than &nbsp;explaining the &nbsp;same by us, it would be appropriate to quote &nbsp;in Tripathy&rsquo;s own words: &ldquo;That the Applicant has born as a male.&nbsp; &nbsp;Growing up as a &nbsp;child, &nbsp;she &nbsp;felt &nbsp;different &nbsp;from &nbsp;the &nbsp;boys of her &nbsp;age &nbsp;and was feminine in her ways.&nbsp; &nbsp;On account of her femininity, from&nbsp; &nbsp;an&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;early&nbsp; &nbsp;age,&nbsp; &nbsp;she&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; faced&nbsp; &nbsp;repeated&nbsp; &nbsp;sexual harassment, molestation and &nbsp;sexual abuse, both&nbsp; within and &nbsp;outside the &nbsp;family. &nbsp;Due &nbsp;to her &nbsp;being &nbsp;different, &nbsp;she was isolated and &nbsp;had &nbsp;no&nbsp; one &nbsp;to talk to or express her feelings while she &nbsp;was coming to terms with her identity. She &nbsp;was constantly &nbsp;abused by everyone as a &nbsp;&lsquo;chakka&rsquo; and &nbsp;&lsquo;hijra&rsquo;.&nbsp; &nbsp;Though &nbsp;she &nbsp;felt that &nbsp;there &nbsp;was no place for her &nbsp;in&nbsp; society,&nbsp; &nbsp;she&nbsp; &nbsp;did &nbsp;not &nbsp;succumb to &nbsp;the &nbsp;prejudice. She &nbsp;started to&nbsp; dress and &nbsp;appear in public in women&rsquo;s clothing in her &nbsp;late teens but&nbsp; she &nbsp;did not&nbsp; identify as a woman.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Later,&nbsp; &nbsp;she&nbsp; &nbsp;joined &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijra &nbsp;community &nbsp;in Mumbai &nbsp;as she &nbsp;identified &nbsp;with &nbsp;the &nbsp;other &nbsp;hijras &nbsp;and &nbsp;for the first time in her life, she &nbsp;felt at home.&nbsp;That being a hijra, the Applicant has faced serious discrimination throughout her life because of her gender identity.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;It &nbsp;has&nbsp; been clear&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;the &nbsp;Applicant &nbsp;that &nbsp;the complete non-recognition of the identity of hijras/transgender persons by the&nbsp; State has resulted in the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; violation&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;most&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; fundamental&nbsp; &nbsp;rights guaranteed to them under &nbsp;the Constitution of India&hellip;.&rdquo; Siddarth Narrain, eunuch, highlights Narrain&rsquo;s feeling, as follows: &rdquo;Ever&nbsp; since&nbsp; &nbsp;I &nbsp;can &nbsp;remember, I &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;always &nbsp;identified myself as a woman. &nbsp;I lived in Namakkal, a small town in Tamil Nadu.&nbsp; &nbsp;When &nbsp;I was in the&nbsp; 10th&nbsp; &nbsp;standard I realized that &nbsp;the &nbsp;only &nbsp;way &nbsp;for me &nbsp;to be &nbsp;comfortable &nbsp;was to join the &nbsp;hijra &nbsp;community.&nbsp; &nbsp;It was then &nbsp;that &nbsp;my family &nbsp;found out that I frequently met hijras who lived in the city. &nbsp;One day,&nbsp; when &nbsp;my father was away, &nbsp;my brother, encouraged by my mother, started beating me &nbsp;with a&nbsp; cricket bat.&nbsp; &nbsp;I locked &nbsp;myself &nbsp;in &nbsp;a &nbsp;room &nbsp;to &nbsp;escape from &nbsp;the &nbsp;beatings. My mother &nbsp;and &nbsp;brother &nbsp;then &nbsp;tried to break &nbsp;into the room to beat &nbsp;me up further.&nbsp; &nbsp;Some of my relatives intervened and &nbsp;brought &nbsp;me &nbsp;out of the &nbsp;room.&nbsp; &nbsp;I related my ordeal to an &nbsp;uncle &nbsp;of mine who gave &nbsp;me &nbsp;Rs.50 &nbsp;and &nbsp;asked me &nbsp;to go &nbsp;home.&nbsp; &nbsp;Instead, I &nbsp;took &nbsp;the &nbsp;money &nbsp;and &nbsp;went &nbsp;to&nbsp; live with a group of hijras in Erode.&rdquo; Sachin, a TG, expressed his experiences as follows: &ldquo;My name is Sachin and&nbsp; I am 23 years old.&nbsp; &nbsp;As a child I always &nbsp;enjoyed &nbsp;putting &nbsp;make-up&nbsp; like &nbsp;&lsquo;vibhuti&rsquo; &nbsp;or &nbsp;&lsquo;kum kum&rsquo; and &nbsp;my parents always saw me &nbsp;as a &nbsp;girl.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;I&nbsp; am male but I only have &nbsp;female feelings. &nbsp;I used to help my mother &nbsp;in all the&nbsp; housework like cooking, &nbsp;washing and cleaning.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Over &nbsp;the &nbsp;years, I &nbsp;started assuming &nbsp;more &nbsp;of the &nbsp;domestic responsibilities at&nbsp; home. &nbsp;The &nbsp;neighbours starting teasing me.&nbsp; &nbsp;They would call out to me and &nbsp;ask:&nbsp;&lsquo;Why &nbsp;don&rsquo;t &nbsp;you &nbsp;go &nbsp;out &nbsp;and &nbsp;work like &nbsp;a &nbsp;man?&rsquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;or &lsquo;Why are &nbsp;you staying at home &nbsp;like a girl?&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;But I liked being a&nbsp;girl.&nbsp; &nbsp;I felt &nbsp;shy &nbsp;about &nbsp;going &nbsp;out &nbsp;and &nbsp;working.&nbsp; &nbsp;Relatives&nbsp;would also mock and &nbsp;scold me on this score. &nbsp;Every day&nbsp;I &nbsp;would &nbsp;go &nbsp;out &nbsp;of the &nbsp;house to &nbsp;bring &nbsp;water.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;And &nbsp;as I&nbsp;walked back &nbsp;with the water &nbsp;I would always be teased. &nbsp;I&nbsp;felt very ashamed. I even &nbsp;felt suicidal.&nbsp; &nbsp;How could I live like that?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;But my parents never &nbsp;protested. &nbsp;They were&nbsp;helpless.&rdquo;&nbsp;We &nbsp;have &nbsp;been told &nbsp;and &nbsp;informed &nbsp;of similar &nbsp;life &nbsp;experiences faced by various others who belong to the TG community. 11.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Transgender is generally described as an &nbsp;umbrella term &nbsp;for persons &nbsp;whose&nbsp; gender &nbsp;identity, &nbsp;gender &nbsp;expression &nbsp;or &nbsp;behavior does not &nbsp;conform &nbsp;to &nbsp;their &nbsp;biological&nbsp; sex. TG &nbsp;may &nbsp;also&nbsp; takes in persons who do not identify with their sex assigned at birth, which include&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijras/Eunuchs&nbsp; &nbsp;who,&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;this&nbsp; &nbsp;writ&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; petition,&nbsp; &nbsp;describe themselves as &ldquo;third gender&rdquo; and &nbsp;they do not identify as either male or&nbsp; female.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijras &nbsp;are &nbsp;not &nbsp;men &nbsp;by virtue &nbsp;of anatomy appearance and&nbsp; psychologically, they are &nbsp;also not women, though &nbsp;they are&nbsp; like women&nbsp; &nbsp;with no &nbsp;female reproduction organ&nbsp;&nbsp; and &nbsp;no &nbsp;menstruation. Since Hijras do not have &nbsp;reproduction capacities as either men &nbsp;or women, &nbsp;they &nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp; neither &nbsp;men&nbsp;&nbsp; nor &nbsp;women&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;claim &nbsp;to &nbsp;be &nbsp;an institutional &ldquo;third gender&rdquo;.&nbsp; &nbsp;Among&nbsp; Hijras, there &nbsp;are &nbsp;emasculated (castrated, nirvana) men, &nbsp;non-emasculated men &nbsp;(not castrated/akva/akka) &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;inter-sexed &nbsp;persons&nbsp; (hermaphrodites). TG&nbsp; &nbsp;also&nbsp;&nbsp; includes&nbsp;&nbsp; persons &nbsp;who&nbsp; &nbsp;intend&nbsp;&nbsp; to&nbsp; &nbsp;undergo &nbsp;Sex&nbsp; &nbsp;Re- Assignment Surgery (SRS) &nbsp;or have &nbsp;undergone SRS &nbsp;to align their biological sex with their gender identity in order &nbsp;to become male or female.&nbsp; &nbsp;They&nbsp; are &nbsp;generally called transsexual persons. Further, there &nbsp;are &nbsp;persons who &nbsp;like &nbsp;to cross-dress in &nbsp;clothing &nbsp;of opposite&nbsp;gender, i.e transvestites. Resultantly, the term &ldquo;transgender&rdquo;, in contemporary usage, has become an umbrella term that is used to describe &nbsp;a wide &nbsp;range of identities &nbsp;and &nbsp;experiences, &nbsp;including &nbsp;but not limited to pre-operative, post-operative and non-operative transsexual people, who strongly identify with the &nbsp;gender opposite to their biological sex; male and female. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF TRANSGENDERS IN INDIA: 12.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TG&nbsp; &nbsp;Community&nbsp; &nbsp;comprises&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijras,&nbsp; &nbsp;eunuchs,&nbsp; &nbsp;Kothis, Aravanis, Jogappas, Shiv-Shakthis etc. &nbsp;and &nbsp;they, &nbsp;as a group, &nbsp;have got&nbsp;&nbsp; a&nbsp; &nbsp;strong &nbsp;historical &nbsp;presence &nbsp;in &nbsp;our&nbsp; &nbsp;country&nbsp; &nbsp;in &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Hindu mythology and &nbsp;other &nbsp;religious texts.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;Concept of tritiya prakrti or napunsaka has also &nbsp;been an &nbsp;integral &nbsp;part &nbsp;of vedic &nbsp;and &nbsp;puranic literatures.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The&nbsp; &nbsp;word &nbsp;&lsquo;napunsaka&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;has &nbsp;been &nbsp;used&nbsp; to &nbsp;denote absence of procreative capability. 13.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lord Rama, in the epic Ramayana, was leaving for the forest upon &nbsp;being banished from the &nbsp;kingdom &nbsp;for 14 years, turns around to his followers and &nbsp;asks all the &nbsp;&lsquo;men and &nbsp;women&rsquo; to return &nbsp;to the city. &nbsp;Among his followers, the hijras alone do not feel bound &nbsp;by this direction &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;decide &nbsp;to &nbsp;stay&nbsp; &nbsp;with &nbsp;him.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Impressed &nbsp;with &nbsp;their devotion, &nbsp;Rama sanctions &nbsp;them &nbsp;the &nbsp;power &nbsp;to confer &nbsp;blessings &nbsp;on&nbsp;people &nbsp;on &nbsp;auspicious &nbsp;occasions like &nbsp;childbirth &nbsp;and &nbsp;marriage, &nbsp;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.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Aravan, &nbsp;the &nbsp;son of Arjuna and &nbsp;Nagakanya in Mahabharata, offers to be&nbsp; sacrificed to Goddess Kali to ensure the&nbsp; victory of the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war,&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the only condition that he made was to&nbsp; spend the &nbsp;last night of his life in matrimony.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Since no woman&nbsp; &nbsp;was willing&nbsp; to &nbsp;marry &nbsp;one &nbsp;who &nbsp;was doomed to &nbsp;be &nbsp;killed, Krishna assumes the&nbsp; form of a beautiful woman &nbsp;called Mohini and marries&nbsp; him.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;Hijras &nbsp;of &nbsp;Tamil &nbsp;Nadu &nbsp;consider Aravan &nbsp;their progenitor and call themselves Aravanis. 15.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jain &nbsp;Texts &nbsp;also &nbsp;make&nbsp; &nbsp;a &nbsp;detailed &nbsp;reference &nbsp;to &nbsp;TG &nbsp;which mentions the &nbsp;concept of &lsquo;psychological sex&rsquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp; Hijras also played a prominent role in the royal courts of the Islamic world, especially in the Ottaman empires and&nbsp; the Mughal rule in the Medieval India.&nbsp; &nbsp;A detailed analysis of the&nbsp; historical background of the &nbsp;same finds a place &nbsp;in &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;book&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;Gayatri &nbsp;Reddy, &nbsp;&ldquo;With &nbsp;Respect &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South &nbsp;India&rdquo; &ndash; Yoda Press (2006). 16.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;We &nbsp;notice&nbsp; that &nbsp;even&nbsp; &nbsp;though&nbsp; &nbsp;historically, &nbsp;Hijras/transgender persons had &nbsp;played a prominent role, with the onset of colonial rule&nbsp;from&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;18th&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; century&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;onwards,&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;situation&nbsp; &nbsp;had&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;changed drastically.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;During the &nbsp;British rule, a&nbsp; legislation was enacted to supervise the&nbsp; deeds of Hijras/TG community, called the&nbsp; Criminal Tribes &nbsp;Act, &nbsp;1871,&nbsp;&nbsp; which &nbsp;deemed the &nbsp;entire &nbsp;community &nbsp;of &nbsp;Hijras persons as &nbsp;innately &nbsp;&lsquo;criminal&rsquo; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;&lsquo;addicted &nbsp;to &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; systematic commission of non-bailable offences&rsquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The&nbsp; Act provided for the registration, surveillance and&nbsp; control of certain criminal tribes and eunuchs and &nbsp;had &nbsp;penalized&nbsp; eunuchs, who &nbsp;were &nbsp;registered,&nbsp; and appeared to be &nbsp;dressed or ornamented like a&nbsp; woman, in a&nbsp; public street or place, as well as those who danced or played music &nbsp;in a public place. &nbsp;Such &nbsp;persons also could be arrested without warrant and &nbsp;sentenced to&nbsp; imprisonment up &nbsp;to&nbsp; two &nbsp;years or &nbsp;fine or &nbsp;both. Under &nbsp;the Act, the local government had&nbsp; to register the names and residence of all eunuchs residing in that&nbsp; area as well as of their properties, &nbsp;who&nbsp;&nbsp; were&nbsp; &nbsp;reasonably &nbsp;suspected &nbsp;of &nbsp;kidnapping &nbsp;or castrating children, or of committing offences under &nbsp;Section 377&nbsp; of the&nbsp; IPC, or of abetting the&nbsp; commission of any&nbsp; of the&nbsp; said offences. Under &nbsp;the &nbsp;Act, &nbsp;the &nbsp;act &nbsp;of &nbsp;keeping &nbsp;a &nbsp;boy &nbsp;under&nbsp; &nbsp;16 &nbsp;years in&nbsp; the charge of a &nbsp;registered &nbsp;eunuch was made an &nbsp;offence &nbsp;punishable with imprisonment up to two years or fine and&nbsp; the Act also denuded the &nbsp;registered eunuchs of their civil rights by prohibiting them &nbsp;from&nbsp;acting as guardians to minors, from making &nbsp;a gift deed or a will, or from &nbsp;adopting &nbsp;a son.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Act has, &nbsp;however, been repealed &nbsp;in &nbsp;August&nbsp;1949. 17.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Section&nbsp; 377 &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;IPC &nbsp;found &nbsp;a &nbsp;place&nbsp; in&nbsp; the &nbsp;Indian&nbsp; Penal Code, 1860,&nbsp;&nbsp; prior &nbsp;to &nbsp;the &nbsp;enactment of &nbsp;Criminal &nbsp;Tribles &nbsp;Act &nbsp;that criminalized&nbsp; all&nbsp; penile-non-vaginal&nbsp; sexual&nbsp; acts between persons, including &nbsp;anal &nbsp;sex&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;oral &nbsp;sex, &nbsp;at &nbsp;a &nbsp;time &nbsp;when&nbsp; &nbsp;transgender persons were &nbsp;also typically associated with the&nbsp; prescribed sexual practices.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Reference &nbsp;may&nbsp;&nbsp; be&nbsp;&nbsp; made &nbsp;to &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; judgment &nbsp;of &nbsp;the Allahabad High Court in Queen Empress v. Khairati &nbsp;(1884) &nbsp;ILR 6&nbsp;All&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;204,&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;wherein&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; transgender&nbsp; &nbsp;person&nbsp; &nbsp;was&nbsp; &nbsp;arrested&nbsp; &nbsp;and prosecuted &nbsp;under&nbsp; &nbsp;Section &nbsp;377 &nbsp;on &nbsp;the &nbsp;suspicion &nbsp;that &nbsp;he &nbsp;was a&nbsp;&lsquo;habitual sodomite&rsquo; and&nbsp; was later acquitted on appeal. &nbsp;In that case, while acquitting him, the Sessions Judge stated as follows:&nbsp;&ldquo;This &nbsp;case relates &nbsp;to &nbsp;a &nbsp;person&nbsp; named &nbsp;Khairati, &nbsp;over whom &nbsp;the &nbsp;police seem to have &nbsp;exercised some sort&nbsp; of supervision, whether strictly regular or not, as a eunuch. The man &nbsp;is not a eunuch in the literal sense, but he was called for by the police when&nbsp; on a visit to his village, and was &nbsp;found &nbsp;singing &nbsp;dressed as &nbsp;a &nbsp;woman&nbsp; &nbsp;among&nbsp; the women &nbsp;of a&nbsp; certain family.&nbsp; &nbsp;Having been subjected to examination &nbsp;by &nbsp;the &nbsp;Civil &nbsp;Surgeon (and&nbsp;&nbsp; a &nbsp;subordinate medical &nbsp;man),&nbsp;&nbsp; he &nbsp;is &nbsp;shown&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp;characteristic mark of a habitual catamite &ndash; the distortion of the orifice of the &nbsp;anus into the &nbsp;shape of a&nbsp; trumpet &nbsp;and &nbsp;also to be affected &nbsp;with &nbsp;syphilis &nbsp;in &nbsp;the &nbsp;same region &nbsp;in &nbsp;a &nbsp;man&nbsp;which distinctly points to unnatural intercourse within the last few months.&rdquo; 18.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Even &nbsp;though, he &nbsp;was acquitted on &nbsp;appeal, this case would demonstrate &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; Section &nbsp;377,&nbsp; &nbsp;though&nbsp; &nbsp;associated &nbsp;with &nbsp;specific sexual acts, highlighted certain identities, including Hijras and&nbsp; was used as an &nbsp;instrument of harassment and &nbsp;physical abuse against Hijras and &nbsp;transgender persons.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;A Division Bench &nbsp;of this Court in Suresh Kumar&nbsp; &nbsp;Koushal and &nbsp;another v. &nbsp;Naz Foundation&nbsp; and others [(2014) &nbsp;1 &nbsp;SCC &nbsp;1] &nbsp;has already&nbsp; spoken on &nbsp;the constitutionality&nbsp; of &nbsp;Section &nbsp;377 &nbsp;IPC &nbsp;and,&nbsp; &nbsp;hence, we &nbsp;express no opinion &nbsp;on &nbsp;it &nbsp;since&nbsp; &nbsp;we &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;in &nbsp;these&nbsp; cases &nbsp;concerned with &nbsp;an altogether different issue pertaining to the&nbsp; constitutional and &nbsp;other legal rights of the&nbsp; transgender community and &nbsp;their gender identity and sexual orientation. GENDER IDENTITY AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION 19.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Gender identity is one &nbsp;of the most-fundamental aspects of life which refers to a person&rsquo;s intrinsic sense of being male, female or transgender or transsexual person.&nbsp; &nbsp;A person&rsquo;s sex is usually assigned at birth, but a relatively small group &nbsp;of persons may&nbsp; born with bodies which incorporate both&nbsp; or certain aspects of both&nbsp; male&nbsp;and &nbsp;female physiology.&nbsp;&nbsp; At times, genital anatomy problems may arise &nbsp;in &nbsp;certain &nbsp;persons, their &nbsp;innate &nbsp;perception &nbsp;of themselves, &nbsp;is not&nbsp; in conformity with the &nbsp;sex assigned to them &nbsp;at&nbsp; birth and &nbsp;may include &nbsp;pre&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;post-operative &nbsp;transsexual &nbsp;persons &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;also persons who &nbsp;do&nbsp; not&nbsp; choose to undergo or do&nbsp; not&nbsp; have &nbsp;access to operation and&nbsp; also include persons who cannot undergo successful operation.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Countries, &nbsp;all &nbsp;over&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp; &nbsp;world, &nbsp;including &nbsp;India, &nbsp;are grappled with the&nbsp; question of attribution of gender to persons who believe &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;they&nbsp; &nbsp;belong &nbsp;to &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;opposite&nbsp; sex.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Few&nbsp; &nbsp;persons undertake surgical and &nbsp;other&nbsp; procedures to alter their bodies and physical appearance to&nbsp; acquire gender characteristics of the &nbsp;sex which conform to their perception of gender, leading to legal and social complications since &nbsp;official record &nbsp;of their gender at birth is found to be&nbsp; at variance with the&nbsp; assumed gender identity. Gender identity refers to each person&rsquo;s deeply felt internal and &nbsp;individual experience &nbsp;of gender, which &nbsp;may &nbsp;or may &nbsp;not &nbsp;correspond with &nbsp;the sex assigned at &nbsp;birth,&nbsp; including &nbsp;the &nbsp;personal&nbsp; sense of &nbsp;the &nbsp;body which&nbsp; &nbsp;may&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;involve&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp; &nbsp;freely&nbsp; &nbsp;chosen,&nbsp;&nbsp; modification&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;bodily appearance or functions by medical, surgical or other &nbsp;means and other &nbsp;expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms. &nbsp;Gender identity, &nbsp;therefore, &nbsp;refers &nbsp;to &nbsp;an &nbsp;individual&rsquo;s&nbsp;self-identification as a man, &nbsp;woman, transgender or other &nbsp;identified category. 20.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sexual orientation refers to an individual&rsquo;s enduring physical, romantic and/or&nbsp;&nbsp; emotional attraction to &nbsp;another person.&nbsp; &nbsp;Sexual orientation&nbsp; includes&nbsp; transgender and &nbsp;gender-variant&nbsp; people&nbsp; with heavy &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;orientation &nbsp;and &nbsp;their &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;orientation &nbsp;may &nbsp;or may not&nbsp; &nbsp;change &nbsp;during &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;after &nbsp;gender &nbsp;transmission, &nbsp;which&nbsp;&nbsp; also includes homo-sexuals, bysexuals, heterosexuals, asexual etc. Gender identity and &nbsp;sexual orientation, as already indicated, are different concepts.&nbsp;&nbsp; Each &nbsp;person&rsquo;s self-defined sexual orientation and&nbsp; gender identity is integral to their personality and&nbsp; is one &nbsp;of the most &nbsp;basic &nbsp;aspects of self-determination, dignity and &nbsp;freedom and no&nbsp; one &nbsp;shall be &nbsp;forced to undergo medical procedures, including SRS, &nbsp;sterilization &nbsp;or hormonal &nbsp;therapy, as a requirement &nbsp;for legal recognition of their gender identity. <img src="file:///C:/Users/RAKESH/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png" style="height:2px; line-height:1.6; width:3px" />UNITED NATIONS AND OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES &ndash; ON GENDER IDENTITY AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION 21.&nbsp; &nbsp;United Nations has been instrumental in advocating the protection and&nbsp; promotion of rights of sexual minorities, including transgender persons.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article &nbsp;6 &nbsp;of the &nbsp;Universal &nbsp;Declaration &nbsp;of Human &nbsp;Rights, &nbsp;1948 &nbsp;and &nbsp;Article &nbsp;16 &nbsp;of the &nbsp;International &nbsp;Covenant on&nbsp; Civil and &nbsp;Political Rights, 1966 &nbsp;(ICCPR) recognize that &nbsp;every human being has the&nbsp; inherent right to live and &nbsp;this right shall be protected by law and &nbsp;that&nbsp; no one &nbsp;shall be&nbsp; arbitrarily denied of that right. &nbsp;Everyone shall have &nbsp;a right to recognition, everywhere as a person before the law.&nbsp; &nbsp;Article 17 of the ICCPR states that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, &nbsp;family, &nbsp;home &nbsp;or correspondence, nor &nbsp;to unlawful &nbsp;attacks on &nbsp;his honour &nbsp;and &nbsp;reputation and &nbsp;that &nbsp;everyone has the &nbsp;right to protection of law against such &nbsp;interference or attacks. International Commission &nbsp;of &nbsp;Jurists &nbsp;and &nbsp;the &nbsp;International&nbsp; Service for &nbsp;Human Rights on behalf of a coalition of human rights organizations, took a &nbsp;project to develop a&nbsp; set of international legal principles on&nbsp; the application of international law to human rights violations based on sexual orientation and&nbsp; sexual identity to bring greater clarity and coherence to State&rsquo;s human rights obligations.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A distinguished group &nbsp;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 &nbsp;Yogyakarta Principles on&nbsp; the application of International Human &nbsp;Rights Law in relation to Sexual &nbsp;Orientation and &nbsp;Gender Identity.&nbsp; &nbsp;Yogyakarta Principles address a broad&nbsp; &nbsp;range of &nbsp;human rights&nbsp; standards and &nbsp;their &nbsp;application&nbsp; to issues of sexual orientation gender identity.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Reference to &nbsp;few Yogyakarta Principles would be useful. YOGYAKARTA PRINCIPLES: 22.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Principle&nbsp; &nbsp;1&nbsp; &nbsp;which&nbsp; &nbsp;deals&nbsp; &nbsp;with&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;right&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;universal enjoyment of human rights, reads as follows :- &ldquo;1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;THE RIGHT TO THE UNIVERSAL ENJOYMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS All human beings are &nbsp;born&nbsp; free and &nbsp;equal in dignity and rights.&nbsp; Human&nbsp; &nbsp;beings&nbsp; of &nbsp;all&nbsp; sexual&nbsp; orientations&nbsp; and gender identities are &nbsp;entitled to the&nbsp; full enjoyment of all human rights. States shall: A.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Embody &nbsp;the principles of the universality, interrelatedness, interdependence and&nbsp; indivisibility of all human rights in their national constitutions or other&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;appropriate&nbsp; &nbsp;legislation&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;ensure&nbsp;&nbsp; the practical &nbsp;realisation &nbsp;of the &nbsp;universal &nbsp;enjoyment &nbsp;of all human rights; B.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Amend &nbsp;any &nbsp;legislation,&nbsp; including &nbsp;criminal &nbsp;law, &nbsp;to ensure&nbsp; its &nbsp;consistency &nbsp;with &nbsp;the &nbsp;universal enjoyment of all human rights; C.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Undertake&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;programmes&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;education&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;and awareness to promote and&nbsp; enhance the full enjoyment of all human rights by all persons, irrespective&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; sexual&nbsp; &nbsp;orientation&nbsp; &nbsp;or&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;gender identity; D.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Integrate within State policy and decision-making a pluralistic &nbsp;approach &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; recognises &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;affirms the&nbsp; interrelatedness and &nbsp;indivisibility of all aspects of human identity including sexual orientation and gender identity. 2.&nbsp; &nbsp;THE RIGHTS TO EQUALITY AND NON- DISCRIMINATION Everyone is&nbsp; entitled&nbsp; to &nbsp;enjoy&nbsp; all&nbsp; human rights&nbsp; without discrimination &nbsp;on&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp; &nbsp;basis &nbsp;of &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;orientation &nbsp;or gender identity. &nbsp;Everyone is &nbsp;entitled &nbsp;to &nbsp;equality &nbsp;before the&nbsp; law and &nbsp;the &nbsp;equal protection of the &nbsp;law without any such&nbsp; &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;whether &nbsp;or &nbsp;not &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; enjoyment &nbsp;of another &nbsp;human &nbsp;right &nbsp;is &nbsp;also &nbsp;affected. &nbsp;The&nbsp;&nbsp; law &nbsp;shall prohibit &nbsp;any &nbsp;such&nbsp; &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;guarantee&nbsp; to &nbsp;all persons equal and&nbsp; effective protection against any such discrimination. Discrimination &nbsp;on&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp; &nbsp;basis &nbsp;of &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;orientation &nbsp;or gender identity includes any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on&nbsp; sexual orientation or gender identity which has the purpose or effect of nullifying &nbsp;or &nbsp;impairing &nbsp;equality &nbsp;before &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; law &nbsp;or &nbsp;the equal&nbsp; &nbsp;protection&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;law,&nbsp; &nbsp;or&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an&nbsp; equal basis, of all human rights and&nbsp; fundamental freedoms. Discrimination based on &nbsp;sexual&nbsp; orientation&nbsp; or &nbsp;gender identity&nbsp; may &nbsp;be, &nbsp;and commonly is, compounded by discrimination on other grounds including gender, race, age, religion, disability, health and economic status. States shall: A. Embody&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; principles&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;equality&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;non- discrimination on&nbsp; the &nbsp;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&nbsp; interpretation, and &nbsp;ensure the &nbsp;effective&nbsp; realisation&nbsp; of &nbsp;these principles; B. Repeal&nbsp; &nbsp;criminal&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; other&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;legal&nbsp; &nbsp;provisions&nbsp; &nbsp;that prohibit&nbsp; &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;are,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; in&nbsp;&nbsp; effect,&nbsp;&nbsp; employed&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;prohibit consensual sexual activity among people of the same sex who are &nbsp;over the age &nbsp;of consent, and &nbsp;ensure that an &nbsp;equal &nbsp;age&nbsp; &nbsp;of consent applies &nbsp;to &nbsp;both &nbsp;same-sex and different- sex sexual activity; C. Adopt&nbsp; appropriate legislative and &nbsp;other &nbsp;measures to prohibit and&nbsp; eliminate discrimination in the public and private spheres on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; D. Take&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; appropriate&nbsp; &nbsp;measures &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;secure &nbsp;adequate advancement &nbsp;of &nbsp;persons&nbsp; of &nbsp;diverse &nbsp;sexual orientations&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;gender&nbsp; &nbsp;identities&nbsp; &nbsp;as&nbsp;&nbsp; may&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;be necessary to ensure such groups or individuals equal enjoyment&nbsp;&nbsp; or&nbsp; &nbsp;exercise &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;human &nbsp;rights.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Such measures shall not be deemed to be discriminatory; E. In all &nbsp;their &nbsp;responses to discrimination &nbsp;on &nbsp;the &nbsp;basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, take &nbsp;account of &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; manner &nbsp;in &nbsp;which &nbsp;such&nbsp; &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;may intersect with other &nbsp;forms of discrimination; F. Take&nbsp; all appropriate action, including programmes of education and &nbsp;training, with a&nbsp; view to achieving the elimination of prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes or behaviours &nbsp;which &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;related &nbsp;to &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; idea &nbsp;of &nbsp;the inferiority &nbsp;or the &nbsp;superiority &nbsp;of any &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;orientation or gender identity or gender expression. 3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;THE RIGHT &nbsp;TO&nbsp; RECOGNITION &nbsp;BEFORE &nbsp;THE LAW Everyone has the &nbsp;right &nbsp;to recognition &nbsp;everywhere as a person before the law. Persons of diverse sexual orientations&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;gender &nbsp;identities&nbsp;&nbsp; shall&nbsp;&nbsp; enjoy&nbsp;&nbsp; legal capacity in all aspects of life. Each &nbsp;person&rsquo;s self-defined sexual orientation and&nbsp; gender identity is integral to their personality and &nbsp;is one &nbsp;of the most &nbsp;basic &nbsp;aspects of self- determination, &nbsp;dignity &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; freedom. &nbsp;No &nbsp;one&nbsp;&nbsp; shall &nbsp;be forced &nbsp;to &nbsp;undergo &nbsp;medical &nbsp;procedures, &nbsp;including &nbsp;sex&nbsp;reassignment surgery, sterilisation or hormonal therapy, as a &nbsp;requirement&nbsp; for &nbsp;legal&nbsp; recognition&nbsp; of &nbsp;their &nbsp;gender identity. &nbsp;No &nbsp;status,&nbsp; such&nbsp; &nbsp;as marriage &nbsp;or &nbsp;parenthood, may be invoked as such &nbsp;to prevent the legal recognition of a person&rsquo;s gender identity. No one &nbsp;shall be subjected to &nbsp;pressure to &nbsp;conceal, suppress or&nbsp; deny &nbsp;their sexual orientation or gender identity &nbsp; States shall: &nbsp; &nbsp; A. Ensure that all persons are &nbsp;accorded legal capacity in civil &nbsp;matters, without&nbsp; discrimination&nbsp; on &nbsp;the &nbsp;basis of sexual orientation or&nbsp; gender identity, and &nbsp;the opportunity to exercise that&nbsp; capacity, including equal rights to conclude contracts, and&nbsp; to administer, own, acquire&nbsp;&nbsp; (including&nbsp;&nbsp; through&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;inheritance),&nbsp;&nbsp; manage, enjoy and dispose of property; &nbsp; &nbsp; B. Take&nbsp; &nbsp;all &nbsp;necessary&nbsp; legislative, &nbsp;administrative &nbsp;and other &nbsp;measures to fully respect and&nbsp; legally recognise each person&rsquo;s self-defined gender identity; &nbsp; &nbsp; C. Take&nbsp; &nbsp;all &nbsp;necessary&nbsp; legislative, &nbsp;administrative &nbsp;and other&nbsp; &nbsp;measures &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; ensure &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;procedures &nbsp;exist whereby&nbsp; &nbsp;all&nbsp; &nbsp;State-issued&nbsp; &nbsp;identity&nbsp; &nbsp;papers&nbsp;&nbsp; which indicate a person&rsquo;s gender/sex &mdash; including birth certificates, passports, electoral records and other documents &nbsp;&mdash; &nbsp;reflect &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; person&rsquo;s &nbsp;profound &nbsp;self- defined gender identity; &nbsp; &nbsp; D. Ensure that &nbsp;such&nbsp; &nbsp;procedures are &nbsp;efficient,&nbsp; fair &nbsp;and non-discriminatory,&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;respect&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;dignity&nbsp; &nbsp;and privacy of the person concerned; &nbsp; &nbsp; E. Ensure that &nbsp;changes to &nbsp;identity&nbsp; documents will &nbsp;be recognised in all contexts where &nbsp;the&nbsp; identification or disaggregation &nbsp;of persons by &nbsp;gender is &nbsp;required &nbsp;by law or policy; &nbsp; &nbsp; F. Undertake&nbsp; targeted &nbsp;programmes &nbsp;to &nbsp;provide &nbsp;social support for all persons experiencing gender transitioning or reassignment. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;THE RIGHT TO LIFE &nbsp; &nbsp; Everyone has the right to life. No one &nbsp;shall be arbitrarily deprived of life, including by reference to considerations of &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;orientation &nbsp;or&nbsp;&nbsp; gender &nbsp;identity. &nbsp;The&nbsp; &nbsp;death penalty shall not be imposed on any person on the basis of consensual sexual activity among persons who&nbsp; are over&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp; &nbsp;age&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;consent &nbsp;or &nbsp;on &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;basis &nbsp;of &nbsp;sexual orientation or gender identity. &nbsp; &nbsp; States shall: &nbsp; &nbsp; A. Repeal all forms of crime that &nbsp;have &nbsp;the &nbsp;purpose or effect of prohibiting consensual sexual activity among persons of the &nbsp;same sex who &nbsp;are &nbsp;over &nbsp;the &nbsp;age&nbsp;&nbsp; of consent&nbsp; and,&nbsp; &nbsp;until &nbsp;such&nbsp; &nbsp;provisions &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;repealed, never&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; impose &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;death &nbsp;penalty &nbsp;on&nbsp; &nbsp;any&nbsp; &nbsp;person convicted under &nbsp;them; &nbsp; &nbsp; B. Remit &nbsp;sentences &nbsp;of &nbsp;death &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;release &nbsp;all &nbsp;those currently awaiting execution for crimes relating to consensual sexual activity among persons who&nbsp; are over the age &nbsp;of consent; &nbsp; &nbsp; C.&nbsp; Cease &nbsp;any&nbsp; &nbsp;State-sponsored &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;State-condoned attacks on the lives of persons based on sexual orientation &nbsp;or &nbsp;gender &nbsp;identity, &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;ensure &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; all such &nbsp;attacks, whether by government officials &nbsp;or by any &nbsp;individual or&nbsp; group, &nbsp;are &nbsp;vigorously &nbsp;investigated, and &nbsp;that,&nbsp; where &nbsp;appropriate evidence is found, those responsible are&nbsp; prosecuted, tried and duly punished. &nbsp; &nbsp; 6.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY &nbsp; &nbsp; Everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, is entitled to&nbsp; the &nbsp;enjoyment of privacy without arbitrary &nbsp;or&nbsp; unlawful &nbsp;interference, &nbsp;including &nbsp;with &nbsp;regard to &nbsp;their &nbsp;family, &nbsp;home &nbsp;or &nbsp;correspondence as well &nbsp;as to protection from unlawful attacks on their honour &nbsp;and reputation. The right to privacy ordinarily includes the choice to disclose or not to disclose information relating &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; to one&rsquo;s sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as decisions and &nbsp;choices &nbsp;regarding &nbsp;both &nbsp;one&rsquo;s &nbsp;own &nbsp;body and consensual sexual and other &nbsp;relations with others. &nbsp; &nbsp; States shall: &nbsp; &nbsp; A. Take&nbsp; &nbsp;all &nbsp;necessary &nbsp;legislative, &nbsp;administrative &nbsp;and other &nbsp;measures to ensure the&nbsp; right of each person, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, to enjoy &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; private &nbsp;sphere, &nbsp;intimate &nbsp;decisions, &nbsp;and human relations, including consensual sexual activity among persons &nbsp;who &nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp; over &nbsp;the &nbsp;age&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;consent, without arbitrary interference; &nbsp; &nbsp; B. Repeal&nbsp; all&nbsp; laws &nbsp;that &nbsp;criminalise&nbsp; consensual&nbsp; sexual activity among persons of the same sex who are &nbsp;over the&nbsp; age &nbsp;of consent, and &nbsp;ensure that&nbsp; an&nbsp; equal age &nbsp;of consent applies to&nbsp; both &nbsp;same-sex and &nbsp;different-sex sexual activity; &nbsp; &nbsp; C. Ensure &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; criminal &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;other&nbsp; &nbsp;legal &nbsp;provisions &nbsp;of general application are&nbsp; not applied to de facto criminalise consensual sexual activity among persons of the same sex who are&nbsp; over the age &nbsp;of consent; &nbsp; &nbsp; D. Repeal &nbsp;any &nbsp;&nbsp;law &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;prohibits &nbsp;or &nbsp;criminalises &nbsp;the expression&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;gender &nbsp;identity,&nbsp; &nbsp;including&nbsp; &nbsp;through dress, speech or mannerisms, or that denies to individuals &nbsp;the &nbsp;opportunity &nbsp;to change their &nbsp;bodies &nbsp;as a means of expressing their gender identity; &nbsp; &nbsp; 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&nbsp; are over&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp; &nbsp;age&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;consent, &nbsp;or &nbsp;is &nbsp;related &nbsp;to &nbsp;gender identity; &nbsp; &nbsp; F. Ensure the &nbsp;right of all persons ordinarily to&nbsp; choose when,&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;whom&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;how&nbsp;&nbsp; to &nbsp;disclose &nbsp;information pertaining&nbsp;&nbsp; to&nbsp; &nbsp;their&nbsp; &nbsp;sexual&nbsp;&nbsp; orientation&nbsp;&nbsp; or&nbsp; &nbsp;gender identity, and &nbsp;protect &nbsp;all persons from arbitrary or unwanted disclosure, &nbsp;or threat &nbsp;of disclosure &nbsp;of such &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; information by others &nbsp; &nbsp; 9.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;THE RIGHT TO TREATMENT &nbsp;WITH HUMANITY WHILE IN DETENTION &nbsp; &nbsp; Everyone &nbsp;deprived&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;liberty&nbsp;&nbsp; shall&nbsp;&nbsp; be&nbsp; &nbsp;treated &nbsp;with humanity and&nbsp; with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. Sexual&nbsp; orientation&nbsp; and &nbsp;gender identity are integral to each person&rsquo;s dignity. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; States shall: &nbsp; &nbsp; A. Ensure &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; placement &nbsp;in &nbsp;detention &nbsp;avoids &nbsp;further marginalising persons on&nbsp; the &nbsp;basis of sexual orientation or &nbsp;gender identity or &nbsp;subjecting&nbsp; them &nbsp;to risk of violence, ill-treatment or physical, mental or sexual abuse; &nbsp; &nbsp; B. Provide&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;adequate &nbsp;access&nbsp;&nbsp; to&nbsp; &nbsp;medical&nbsp; &nbsp;care&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;and counselling &nbsp;appropriate &nbsp;to &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; needs&nbsp; of &nbsp;those &nbsp;in custody, recognising any&nbsp; particular needs of persons on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, including with regard to reproductive health, access&nbsp; to &nbsp;HIV/AIDS &nbsp;information &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;therapy &nbsp;and access to &nbsp;hormonal &nbsp;or &nbsp;other &nbsp;therapy as well &nbsp;as to gender-reassignment treatments where &nbsp;desired; &nbsp; &nbsp; C. Ensure, &nbsp;to &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; extent&nbsp; &nbsp;possible, &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; all &nbsp;prisoners participate&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;decisions&nbsp; &nbsp;regarding&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; place&nbsp; &nbsp;of detention appropriate to their sexual orientation and gender identity; &nbsp; &nbsp; D. Put &nbsp;protective &nbsp;measures&nbsp; in &nbsp;place &nbsp;for &nbsp;all &nbsp;prisoners vulnerable to violence or abuse on the&nbsp; basis of their sexual&nbsp; orientation,&nbsp; gender identity&nbsp; or &nbsp;gender expression and &nbsp;ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that such &nbsp;protective measures involve no greater restriction &nbsp;of their &nbsp;rights &nbsp;than &nbsp;is &nbsp;experienced by the general prison population; &nbsp; &nbsp; E. Ensure &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;conjugal&nbsp; &nbsp;visits,&nbsp; &nbsp;where&nbsp; &nbsp;permitted,&nbsp; &nbsp;are &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; granted &nbsp;on&nbsp; &nbsp;an&nbsp; &nbsp;equal&nbsp; &nbsp;basis &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;all&nbsp; &nbsp;prisoners&nbsp; &nbsp;and detainees, regardless of the gender of their partner; &nbsp; &nbsp; F. Provide &nbsp;for the&nbsp; independent monitoring of detention facilities by the State as well as by non-governmental organisations including organisations working&nbsp; in the spheres of sexual orientation and gender identity; &nbsp; &nbsp; G. Undertake programmes &nbsp;of &nbsp;training&nbsp; and &nbsp;awareness- raising &nbsp;for prison &nbsp;personnel &nbsp;and &nbsp;all &nbsp;other &nbsp;officials &nbsp;in the &nbsp;public &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;private &nbsp;sector&nbsp; who &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;engaged in detention&nbsp; &nbsp;facilities,&nbsp; &nbsp;regarding&nbsp;&nbsp; international&nbsp;&nbsp; human rights standards and&nbsp; principles of equality and &nbsp;non- discrimination,&nbsp; including&nbsp; in&nbsp; relation &nbsp;to &nbsp;sexual orientation and gender identity. &nbsp; &nbsp; 18.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;PROTECTION FROM MEDICAL ABUSES &nbsp; &nbsp; No &nbsp;person &nbsp;may&nbsp;&nbsp; be&nbsp;&nbsp; forced &nbsp;to &nbsp;undergo &nbsp;any&nbsp;&nbsp; form &nbsp;of medical &nbsp;or&nbsp; psychological &nbsp;treatment, procedure, testing, or &nbsp;be &nbsp;confined&nbsp; to &nbsp;a &nbsp;medical&nbsp; facility, &nbsp;based on &nbsp;sexual orientation or gender identity. Notwithstanding any classifications to the &nbsp;contrary, &nbsp;a&nbsp; person&rsquo;s sexual orientation&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;gender &nbsp;identity&nbsp;&nbsp; are&nbsp; &nbsp;not,&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;of themselves,&nbsp; &nbsp;medical&nbsp;&nbsp; conditions&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;not&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;be treated, cured &nbsp;or suppressed. &nbsp; &nbsp; States shall: &nbsp; &nbsp; A. Take&nbsp; &nbsp;all &nbsp;necessary &nbsp;legislative, &nbsp;administrative &nbsp;and other&nbsp; &nbsp;measures &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; ensure &nbsp;full&nbsp; &nbsp;protection &nbsp;against harmful &nbsp;medical &nbsp;practices &nbsp;based&nbsp; on &nbsp;sexual orientation &nbsp;or gender identity, &nbsp;including &nbsp;on &nbsp;the &nbsp;basis of stereotypes, whether derived from culture or otherwise, regarding conduct, physical appearance or perceived gender norms; &nbsp; &nbsp; B. Take&nbsp; &nbsp;all &nbsp;necessary&nbsp; legislative, &nbsp;administrative &nbsp;and other&nbsp; measures to ensure that no child&rsquo;s body is irreversibly &nbsp;altered&nbsp;&nbsp; by&nbsp; &nbsp;medical &nbsp;procedures &nbsp;in &nbsp;an attempt to impose a&nbsp; gender identity without the &nbsp;full, free and &nbsp;informed consent of the &nbsp;child in accordance &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; with &nbsp;the &nbsp;age &nbsp;and &nbsp;maturity of the &nbsp;child and &nbsp;guided by the &nbsp;principle &nbsp;that &nbsp;in &nbsp;all &nbsp;actions &nbsp;concerning &nbsp;children, the best &nbsp;interests of the child shall be a primary consideration; &nbsp; &nbsp; C. Establish &nbsp;child&nbsp; protection&nbsp; mechanisms &nbsp;whereby no child is at risk of, or subjected to, medical abuse; &nbsp; &nbsp; D. Ensure &nbsp;protection&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;persons &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;diverse&nbsp; &nbsp;sexual orientations and&nbsp; gender identities against unethical or involuntary medical procedures or research, including in relation to vaccines, treatments or microbicides for HIV/AIDS or other &nbsp;diseases; &nbsp; &nbsp; E. Review &nbsp;and &nbsp;amend any&nbsp; health funding provisions or programmes, including those of a development- assistance nature, which may promote, facilitate or in any other &nbsp;way render possible such &nbsp;abuses; &nbsp; &nbsp; F. Ensure that &nbsp;any &nbsp;medical &nbsp;or &nbsp;psychological &nbsp;treatment or&nbsp; counselling does not, &nbsp;explicitly or &nbsp;implicitly, treat sexual orientation and &nbsp;gender identity as medical conditions to be treated, cured &nbsp;or suppressed. &nbsp; &nbsp; 19.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;THE RIGHT&nbsp; TO FREEDOM OF&nbsp; OPINION &nbsp;AND EXPRESSION &nbsp; &nbsp; Everyone has &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;right &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; freedom &nbsp;of &nbsp;opinion &nbsp;and expression, regardless of sexual orientation or&nbsp; gender identity. This includes the expression of identity or personhood through &nbsp;speech, deportment, dress, bodily characteristics, choice of name, or any&nbsp; other &nbsp;means, as well as the freedom to seek, receive and &nbsp;impart information and &nbsp;ideas of all &nbsp;kinds, &nbsp;including with &nbsp;regard to human rights, sexual orientation and&nbsp; gender identity, through &nbsp;any medium and regardless of frontiers. &nbsp; &nbsp; States shall: &nbsp; &nbsp; A. Take&nbsp; &nbsp;all &nbsp;necessary &nbsp;legislative, &nbsp;administrative &nbsp;and other &nbsp;measures to ensure full enjoyment &nbsp;of freedom of opinion and &nbsp;expression, while respecting the rights &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; and&nbsp; freedoms of others, without discrimination on the basis&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;sexual&nbsp; &nbsp;orientation&nbsp; &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;gender&nbsp; &nbsp;identity, including the receipt and&nbsp; imparting of information and ideas concerning sexual orientation and&nbsp; gender identity, as well as related advocacy for legal rights, publication of materials, broadcasting, organisation of or participation in conferences, and&nbsp; dissemination of and access to safer-sex information; &nbsp; &nbsp; B.&nbsp; Ensure &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;outputs &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;organisation &nbsp;of media that&nbsp; is State-regulated is pluralistic and &nbsp;non- discriminatory&nbsp; in&nbsp; respect of &nbsp;issues&nbsp; of &nbsp;sexual orientation and&nbsp; gender identity and&nbsp; that the personnel recruitment &nbsp;and &nbsp;promotion&nbsp; policies &nbsp;of &nbsp;such organisations are &nbsp;non-discriminatory on&nbsp; the &nbsp;basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; &nbsp; &nbsp; C.&nbsp; Take&nbsp; &nbsp;all &nbsp;necessary legislative, &nbsp;administrative &nbsp;and other &nbsp;measures to&nbsp; ensure the &nbsp;full&nbsp; enjoyment of the right to express identity or personhood, including through &nbsp;speech, deportment, dress, bodily characteristics, choice of name or any other &nbsp;means; &nbsp; &nbsp; D. Ensure that &nbsp;notions of public order, &nbsp;public morality, public health and&nbsp; public security are&nbsp; not employed to restrict, in a&nbsp; discriminatory manner, any &nbsp;exercise of freedom&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;opinion&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; expression &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;affirms diverse sexual orientations or gender identities; &nbsp; &nbsp; E. Ensure that&nbsp; the&nbsp; exercise of freedom of opinion and expression does not &nbsp;violate &nbsp;the &nbsp;rights &nbsp;and &nbsp;freedoms of persons of diverse sexual orientations and &nbsp;gender identities; &nbsp; &nbsp; F. Ensure&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;all&nbsp; &nbsp;persons,&nbsp;&nbsp; regardless&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;sexual orientation or gender identity, enjoy equal access to information and &nbsp;ideas, as well as to&nbsp; participation in public debate.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 23.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; UN bodies, Regional Human &nbsp;Rights Bodies, National Courts, Government &nbsp;Commissions&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Commissions&nbsp; &nbsp;for&nbsp; &nbsp;Human Rights, &nbsp;Council &nbsp;of &nbsp;Europe, &nbsp;etc.&nbsp;&nbsp; have&nbsp; &nbsp;endorsed the &nbsp;Yogyakarta Principles &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;considered &nbsp;them&nbsp; &nbsp;as an&nbsp;&nbsp; important &nbsp;tool &nbsp;for identifying the obligations of States to respect, protect &nbsp;and &nbsp;fulfill the human rights of&nbsp; all persons, regardless of&nbsp; their&nbsp; gender identity. United &nbsp;Nations &nbsp;Committee &nbsp;on&nbsp;&nbsp; Economic, &nbsp;Social &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;Cultural Rights &nbsp;in &nbsp;its &nbsp;Report&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;2009&nbsp;&nbsp; speaks of &nbsp;gender orientation &nbsp;and gender identity as follows:- &ldquo;Sexual orientation and gender identity &lsquo;Other status&rsquo; &nbsp;as recognized in article 2, paragraph 2, includes&nbsp; &nbsp;sexual&nbsp; &nbsp;orientation.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;States &nbsp;parties&nbsp; &nbsp;should ensure &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;a &nbsp;person&rsquo;s &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;orientation &nbsp;is &nbsp;not &nbsp;a barrier &nbsp;to &nbsp;realizing &nbsp;Covenant rights, &nbsp;for &nbsp;example, &nbsp;in accessing &nbsp;survivor&rsquo;s&nbsp; &nbsp;pension &nbsp;rights.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In&nbsp; &nbsp;addition, gender identity is recognized as among the prohibited grounds of discrimination, &nbsp;for example, &nbsp;persons who are &nbsp;transgender, &nbsp;transsexual &nbsp;or &nbsp;intersex, &nbsp;often &nbsp;face serious &nbsp;human rights &nbsp;violations, &nbsp;such &nbsp;as harassment in schools or in the workplace.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 24.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In this respect, reference may &nbsp;also be &nbsp;made to the &nbsp;General Comment No.2 &nbsp;of the &nbsp;Committee on&nbsp; Torture &nbsp;and &nbsp;Article 2 of the Convention&nbsp; &nbsp;against&nbsp; &nbsp;Torture&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Other&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cruel,&nbsp; &nbsp;Inhuman&nbsp; &nbsp;or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2008&nbsp; and&nbsp; also the General Comment No.20 of the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against&nbsp; &nbsp;Woman,&nbsp; &nbsp;responsible&nbsp; &nbsp;for&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;implementation&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Convention&nbsp; &nbsp;on&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Elimination&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;All &nbsp;Forms &nbsp;of &nbsp;Discrimination against Woman, 1979 and 2010 report. &nbsp; &nbsp; SRS and Foreign Judgments &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 25.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Various &nbsp;countries &nbsp;have&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; given &nbsp;recognition &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;gender identity &nbsp;of &nbsp;such&nbsp; &nbsp;persons, &nbsp;mostly, &nbsp;in &nbsp;cases&nbsp; where&nbsp; &nbsp;transsexual persons started asserting their rights after undergoing SRS &nbsp;of their re-assigned sex.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In Corbett v.&nbsp; Corbett (1970) &nbsp;2 All ER 33, &nbsp;the Court &nbsp;in&nbsp; England&nbsp; was concerned with &nbsp;the &nbsp;gender of &nbsp;a &nbsp;male&nbsp; to female &nbsp;transsexual &nbsp;in &nbsp;the &nbsp;context&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;validity&nbsp; of &nbsp;a &nbsp;marriage. Ormrod, &nbsp;J. in that case took the view that the law should adopt &nbsp;the chromosomal, &nbsp;gonadal &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;genital &nbsp;tests &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;if &nbsp;all &nbsp;three&nbsp; &nbsp;are congruent, that should determine a person&rsquo;s sex for the purpose of marriage.&nbsp; &nbsp;Learned Judge expressed the &nbsp;view that&nbsp; any&nbsp; operative intervention &nbsp;should &nbsp;be &nbsp;ignored&nbsp; and &nbsp;the &nbsp;biological &nbsp;sexual constitution &nbsp;of &nbsp;an &nbsp;individual &nbsp;is&nbsp; fixed &nbsp;at &nbsp;birth,&nbsp; at &nbsp;the &nbsp;latest,&nbsp; and cannot be&nbsp; changed either by the&nbsp; natural development of organs of the &nbsp;opposite sex or by medical &nbsp;or surgical &nbsp;means. &nbsp;Later, &nbsp;in &nbsp;R v. Tan &nbsp;(1983)&nbsp; &nbsp;QB &nbsp;1053,&nbsp; &nbsp;1063-1064,&nbsp; the &nbsp;Court &nbsp;of &nbsp;Appeal &nbsp;applied Corbett approach in the context &nbsp;of criminal law.&nbsp; &nbsp;The Court upheld &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; convictions &nbsp;which &nbsp;were&nbsp; &nbsp;imposed &nbsp;on&nbsp; &nbsp;Gloria &nbsp;Greaves, &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; post- operative male to female transsexual, still being in law, a man. &nbsp; &nbsp; 26.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Corbett &nbsp;principle &nbsp;was &nbsp;not &nbsp;found &nbsp;favour &nbsp;by &nbsp;various &nbsp;other countries, like New Zealand, Australia etc.&nbsp; and &nbsp;also attracted much criticism,&nbsp; &nbsp;from&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp; &nbsp;medical&nbsp; &nbsp;profession.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It&nbsp; &nbsp;was &nbsp;felt&nbsp;&nbsp; that&nbsp; &nbsp;the application&nbsp; of &nbsp;the &nbsp;Corbett &nbsp;approach would &nbsp;lead&nbsp; to &nbsp;a &nbsp;substantial different &nbsp;outcome in &nbsp;cases of a post &nbsp;operative &nbsp;inter-sexual &nbsp;person and&nbsp; &nbsp;a &nbsp;post&nbsp;&nbsp; operative &nbsp;transsexual &nbsp;person.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;New &nbsp;Zealand &nbsp;in Attorney-General v.&nbsp; Otahuhu Family &nbsp;Court &nbsp;(1995) &nbsp;1 NZLR 603, Justice Ellis noted &nbsp;that &nbsp;once &nbsp;a transsexual person has undergone surgery, he or she &nbsp;is no longer able to operate in his or her original sex. &nbsp;It was held that there &nbsp;is no social advantage in the law for not recognizing the &nbsp;validity of the &nbsp;marriage of a transsexual in the &nbsp;sex of reassignment.&nbsp; &nbsp;The Court held that an adequate test &nbsp;is whether the&nbsp; &nbsp;person &nbsp;in &nbsp;question &nbsp;has &nbsp;undergone&nbsp; surgical &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;medical procedures that have &nbsp;effectively given the person the physical conformation of a person of a specified sex. &nbsp;In Re Kevin (Validity of&nbsp; &nbsp;Marriage&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;Transsexual)&nbsp; &nbsp;(2001)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fam&nbsp; &nbsp;CA&nbsp; &nbsp;1074,&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;an Australian &nbsp;case, &nbsp;Chisholm &nbsp;J.,&nbsp; &nbsp;held &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;there&nbsp; &nbsp;is &nbsp;no&nbsp;&nbsp; &lsquo;formulaic solution&rsquo; to determine the sex of an individual for the purpose of the law &nbsp;of marriage.&nbsp; &nbsp;It was held &nbsp;that &nbsp;all &nbsp;relevant &nbsp;matters need to be &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; considered, including the person&rsquo;s life experiences and self- perception.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Full &nbsp;Court &nbsp;of the &nbsp;Federal &nbsp;Family &nbsp;Court &nbsp;in &nbsp;the &nbsp;year 2003 &nbsp;approved the&nbsp; above-mentioned judgment holding that&nbsp; in the relevant &nbsp;Commonwealth &nbsp;marriage &nbsp;statute &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;words &nbsp;&lsquo;man&rsquo; &nbsp;and &lsquo;woman&rsquo; should be given their ordinary, everyday contemporary meaning and &nbsp;that &nbsp;the &nbsp;word &lsquo;man&rsquo; includes a post &nbsp;operative female to &nbsp;male &nbsp;transsexual &nbsp;person.&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;Full &nbsp;Court &nbsp;also &nbsp;held &nbsp;that &nbsp;there was a&nbsp; biological basis for transsexualism and &nbsp;that &nbsp;there &nbsp;was no reason to &nbsp;exclude the &nbsp;psyche as one &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;relevant&nbsp; factors &nbsp;in determining sex and &nbsp;gender. &nbsp;The judgment Attorney-General for the &nbsp;Commonwealth &amp; &ldquo;Kevin and &nbsp;Jennifer&rdquo; &amp; Human &nbsp;Rights and &nbsp;Equal &nbsp;Opportunity Commission is &nbsp;reported in &nbsp;(2003) &nbsp;Fam CA 94. &nbsp; &nbsp; 27.&nbsp; &nbsp;Lockhart, &nbsp;J. in Secretary, Department of Social Security v. &ldquo;SRA&rdquo;,&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;(1993) &nbsp;43&nbsp; FCR &nbsp;299 &nbsp;and &nbsp;Mathews, J. &nbsp;in R v. &nbsp;Harris &amp; McGuiness (1988) &nbsp;17 NSWLR 158, made an exhaustive review of the &nbsp;various decisions with regard to the &nbsp;question of recognition to be&nbsp; accorded by Courts to the&nbsp; gender of a transsexual person who had &nbsp;undertaken a &nbsp;surgical procedure.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The &nbsp;Courts generally in New Zealand held that&nbsp; the &nbsp;decision in Corbett v. Corbett (supra) and &nbsp;R v. Tan (supra) which applied a purely biological test, &nbsp;should &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; not&nbsp; be &nbsp;followed.&nbsp; &nbsp;In fact, Lockhart. &nbsp;J. &nbsp;in SRA &nbsp;observed that &nbsp;the development &nbsp;in &nbsp;surgical &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; medical &nbsp;techniques &nbsp;in &nbsp;the &nbsp;field &nbsp;of sexual reassignment, together with indications of changing social attitudes towards transsexuals, would indicate that&nbsp; generally they should not be regarded merely as a matter &nbsp;of chromosomes, which is &nbsp;purely &nbsp;a &nbsp;psychological &nbsp;question, &nbsp;one&nbsp;&nbsp; of &nbsp;self-perception, &nbsp;and partly a social question, how society perceives the individual. &nbsp; &nbsp; 28.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;A.B.&nbsp;&nbsp; v. &nbsp;Western &nbsp;Australia &nbsp;(2011)&nbsp; &nbsp;HCA &nbsp;42 &nbsp;was &nbsp;a &nbsp;case concerned with the Gender Reassignment Act, 2000.&nbsp; &nbsp;In that Act, a person who had &nbsp;undergone a reassignment procedure could apply to Gender Reassignment Board for the issue of a recognition certificate.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Under&nbsp;&nbsp; Section &nbsp;15 &nbsp;of &nbsp;that &nbsp;Act, &nbsp;before &nbsp;issuing &nbsp;the certificate, &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; Board&nbsp; &nbsp;had&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;be&nbsp;&nbsp; satisfied, &nbsp;inter &nbsp;alia, &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; the applicant &nbsp;believed &nbsp;his &nbsp;or&nbsp;&nbsp; her&nbsp; &nbsp;true&nbsp; &nbsp;gender &nbsp;was &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;person&rsquo;s reassigned gender and had adopted the lifestyle and gender characteristics&nbsp; of &nbsp;that &nbsp;gender.&nbsp; &nbsp;Majority&nbsp; of &nbsp;Judges agreed with Lockhart, &nbsp;J. in SRA&nbsp; &nbsp;that gender should not be regarded merely as a matter &nbsp;of chromosomes, but partly a psychological question, one of &nbsp;self-perception, &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;partly &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; social &nbsp;question, &nbsp;how&nbsp;&nbsp; society perceives the individual. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 29.&nbsp; &nbsp;The House of Lords in Bellinger v. Bellinger (2003) &nbsp;2 All ER &nbsp; &nbsp; 593&nbsp; was dealing with the&nbsp; question of a transsexual. &nbsp;In that&nbsp; case, Mrs. Bellinger was born on 7th &nbsp;September, 1946.&nbsp; &nbsp;At birth, she &nbsp;was correctly &nbsp;classified &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; registered &nbsp;as male.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;However, &nbsp;she&nbsp; &nbsp;felt more &nbsp;inclined to be&nbsp; a female. &nbsp;Despite her &nbsp;inclinations, and &nbsp;under some pressure, in 1967&nbsp; she &nbsp;married a woman &nbsp;and&nbsp; at that time she was 21 years old.&nbsp; &nbsp;Marriage broke &nbsp;down &nbsp;and &nbsp;parties separated in 1971 &nbsp;and &nbsp;got divorce in the year &nbsp;1975.&nbsp; &nbsp;Mrs. Bellinger dressed and lived &nbsp;like &nbsp;a &nbsp;woman &nbsp;and &nbsp;when &nbsp;she &nbsp;married &nbsp;Mr. Bellinger, &nbsp;he &nbsp;was fully aware of her background and &nbsp;throughout had &nbsp;been supportive to &nbsp;her.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Mr. and &nbsp;Mrs. &nbsp;Bellinger &nbsp;since&nbsp; &nbsp;marriage&nbsp; lived&nbsp; happily&nbsp; as husband and&nbsp; wife and&nbsp; presented themselves in that fashion to the outside world. &nbsp;Mrs. Bellinger&rsquo;s primary claim was for a declaration under &nbsp;Section 55 of the Family Law Act, 1986 &nbsp;that her marriage to Mr. Bellinger in 1981 &nbsp;was &ldquo;at its inception valid marriage&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp; The House of Lords rejected the claim and dismissed the appeal. Certainly, the &ldquo;psychological factor&rdquo; has not been given much prominence in determination of the claim of Mrs. Bellinger. &nbsp; &nbsp; 30.&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;High Court &nbsp;of Kuala Lumpur &nbsp;in Re &nbsp;JG, &nbsp;JG v.&nbsp; Pengarah Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (2006) &nbsp;1 MLJ &nbsp;90, &nbsp;was considering the &nbsp;question &nbsp;as to &nbsp;whether an &nbsp;application &nbsp;to &nbsp;amend or &nbsp;correct &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; gender status stated in &nbsp;National &nbsp;Registration &nbsp;Identity &nbsp;Card &nbsp;could be &nbsp;allowed after a &nbsp;person has undergone SRS.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It &nbsp;was a &nbsp;case where &nbsp;the plaintiff was born as a male, but felt more &nbsp;inclined to be a&nbsp; woman.&nbsp; &nbsp;In 1996 &nbsp;at&nbsp; Hospital Siroros she &nbsp;underwent a&nbsp; gender reassignment and &nbsp;got the&nbsp; surgery done &nbsp;for changing the&nbsp; sex from male to female and &nbsp;then&nbsp; she &nbsp;lived like a woman. &nbsp;She &nbsp;applied to authorities to change her &nbsp;name and &nbsp;also for a&nbsp; declaration of her gender as female, but her &nbsp;request was not favourably considered, but &nbsp;still treated as a &nbsp;male.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;She &nbsp;sought a &nbsp;declaration from the Court &nbsp;that &nbsp;she &nbsp;be &nbsp;declared as a female &nbsp;and &nbsp;that &nbsp;the &nbsp;Registration Department be directed to change the last digit of her identity card to &nbsp;a &nbsp;digit &nbsp;that &nbsp;reflects&nbsp; a &nbsp;female &nbsp;gender.&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;Malaysian &nbsp;Court basically &nbsp;applied &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; principle &nbsp;laid &nbsp;down&nbsp; &nbsp;in &nbsp;Corbett &nbsp;(supra), however, both&nbsp; the &nbsp;prayers sought for were &nbsp;granted, after noticing that the medical men &nbsp;have &nbsp;spoken that the plaintiff is a female and they have &nbsp;considered the sex change of the plaintiff as well as her &ldquo;psychological aspect&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The &nbsp;Court &nbsp;noticed that &nbsp;she feels like a woman, lives&nbsp; like &nbsp;one, &nbsp;&nbsp;behaves as one,&nbsp;&nbsp; has her &nbsp;physical &nbsp;body attuned &nbsp;to &nbsp;one,&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;most&nbsp; &nbsp;important &nbsp;of &nbsp;all, &nbsp;her&nbsp;&nbsp; &ldquo;psychological thinking&rdquo; is that of a woman. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 31.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The &nbsp;Court&nbsp; of Appeal, New South &nbsp;Wales was called upon &nbsp;to decide the&nbsp; question whether the&nbsp; Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages has the&nbsp; power &nbsp;under &nbsp;the &nbsp;Births, Deaths and &nbsp;Marriages Act,&nbsp; 1995 &nbsp;to &nbsp;register a &nbsp;change of sex of a &nbsp;person and &nbsp;the &nbsp;sex recorded on&nbsp; the &nbsp;register to &ldquo;non-specific&rdquo; or &ldquo;non-specified&rdquo;.&nbsp; &nbsp;The appeal &nbsp;was &nbsp;allowed &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; matter&nbsp; &nbsp;was &nbsp;remitted &nbsp;back&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;the Tribunal&nbsp; for &nbsp;a &nbsp;fresh &nbsp;consideration &nbsp;in&nbsp; accordance with &nbsp;law, &nbsp;after laying down &nbsp;the&nbsp; law on the&nbsp; subject. &nbsp;The&nbsp; judgment is reported as Norrie&nbsp; &nbsp;v.&nbsp;&nbsp; NSW&nbsp; &nbsp;Registrar &nbsp;of &nbsp;Births, &nbsp;Deaths &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;Marriages (2013) &nbsp;NSWCA 145.&nbsp; &nbsp;While disposing of the appeal, the Court held as follows:- &ldquo;The consequence is that&nbsp; the &nbsp;Appeal Panel (and &nbsp;the Tribunal and the Registrar) were&nbsp; in error in construing the &nbsp;power &nbsp;in S.32DC(1) as limiting the &nbsp;Registrar to registering a person&rsquo;s change of sex as only male or female.&nbsp; &nbsp;An&nbsp; error in the &nbsp;construction of the &nbsp;statutory provision&nbsp;&nbsp; granting &nbsp;the &nbsp;power&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;register &nbsp;a &nbsp;person&rsquo;s change &nbsp;of &nbsp;sex&nbsp; is &nbsp;an &nbsp;error &nbsp;on &nbsp;a &nbsp;question &nbsp;of &nbsp;law. Collector of&nbsp; Customs v. &nbsp;Pozzolanic Enterprises Pty. Ltd. [1993] FCA 322; (1993) &nbsp;43 FCR 280 at 287.&nbsp; &nbsp;This is so notwithstanding that the determination of the common understanding of a general word used in the statutory &nbsp;provision&nbsp; is a question of fact.&nbsp; &nbsp;The&nbsp; Appeal Panel (and &nbsp;the &nbsp;Tribunal and &nbsp;the &nbsp;Registrar) erred&nbsp; in determining that&nbsp; the &nbsp;current &nbsp;ordinary meaning of the word&nbsp; &ldquo;sex&rdquo; is limited to the &nbsp;character &nbsp;of being either male or female. That &nbsp;involved an error on a question of fact.&nbsp;&nbsp; But the Appeal Panel&rsquo;s error in arriving at the common understanding of the &nbsp;word&nbsp; &ldquo;sex&rdquo; was associated with its error in construction of the effect &nbsp;of the&nbsp; &nbsp;statutory&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;provision&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;S.32DC&nbsp; &nbsp;(and&nbsp; &nbsp;also&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; S.32DA), and &nbsp;accordingly &nbsp;is of law: &nbsp;Hope &nbsp;v. Bathurst City Council [1980] HCA 16, (1980) 144 CLR 1 at 10.&rdquo; &nbsp; 32.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In Christine Goodwin v. United Kingdom (Application No.28957/95 &nbsp;- &nbsp;Judgment dated&nbsp; 11th&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;July, &nbsp;2002),&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp;European Court &nbsp;of Human &nbsp;Rights examined an &nbsp;application alleging violation of Articles 8,&nbsp; 12, &nbsp;13 &nbsp;and &nbsp;14 &nbsp;of the &nbsp;Convention for Protection of Human &nbsp;Rights and&nbsp; Fundamental Freedoms, 1997 &nbsp;in respect of the legal status of transsexuals in UK and &nbsp;particularly their treatment in the sphere of employment, social security, pensions and &nbsp;marriage. Applicant in that&nbsp; case had &nbsp;a tendency to dress as a woman &nbsp;from early &nbsp;childhood &nbsp;and &nbsp;underwent aversion therapy in &nbsp;1963-64.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In the mid-1960s she &nbsp;was diagnosed as a transsexual.&nbsp; &nbsp;Though &nbsp;she married &nbsp;a &nbsp;woman &nbsp;and &nbsp;they &nbsp;had &nbsp;four &nbsp;children, &nbsp;her &nbsp;inclination &nbsp;was that&nbsp; her &nbsp;&ldquo;brain sex&rdquo; did not fit her &nbsp;body.&nbsp; &nbsp;From that&nbsp; time until 1984 she &nbsp;dressed as a man for work but as a woman &nbsp;in her free time. &nbsp;In January, &nbsp;1985,&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;applicant &nbsp;began &nbsp;treatment &nbsp;at&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp; &nbsp;Gender Identity &nbsp;Clinic. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In &nbsp;October, &nbsp;1986,&nbsp; &nbsp;she&nbsp; &nbsp;underwent &nbsp;surgery &nbsp;to shorten her &nbsp;vocal chords. &nbsp;In August, &nbsp;1987, &nbsp;she &nbsp;was accepted on the&nbsp; &nbsp;waiting&nbsp; &nbsp;list&nbsp; &nbsp;for&nbsp; &nbsp;gender&nbsp; &nbsp;re-assignment &nbsp;surgery &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; later underwent that surgery at a National Health Service hospital. &nbsp;The applicant&nbsp; later &nbsp;divorced&nbsp; her &nbsp;former &nbsp;wife.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;She&nbsp; &nbsp;claimed&nbsp; between 1990 &nbsp;and &nbsp;1992 &nbsp;she &nbsp;was sexually harassed by colleagues at work, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; followed by other &nbsp;human rights violations. &nbsp;The Court after referring to various provisions and Conventions held as follows:- &ldquo;Nonetheless, the &nbsp;very&nbsp; essence of the &nbsp;Convention is respect for human dignity and&nbsp; human freedom. Under Article&nbsp; 8 &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;Convention&nbsp; in&nbsp; particular,&nbsp; where&nbsp; &nbsp;the notion of personal autonomy is an&nbsp; important principle underlying &nbsp;the &nbsp;interpretation&nbsp; of &nbsp;its&nbsp; guarantees, protection is given to the personal sphere of each individuals,&nbsp; including&nbsp; the &nbsp;right &nbsp;to &nbsp;establish &nbsp;details &nbsp;of their &nbsp;identity&nbsp; as individual&nbsp; human beings&nbsp; (see, inter alia,&nbsp; &nbsp;Pretty&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;v.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;United&nbsp; &nbsp;Kingdom&nbsp; &nbsp;no.2346/02, judgment of 29 April 2002, &nbsp;62,&nbsp; and &nbsp;Mikulic v. Croatia, no.53176/99, judgment of 7 February 2002, &nbsp;53, both to be &nbsp;published&nbsp; in&nbsp; ECHR &nbsp;2002&hellip;).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;the &nbsp;twenty &nbsp;first century&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp;right&nbsp; of &nbsp;transsexuals&nbsp; to &nbsp;personal development and&nbsp; to physical and&nbsp; moral security in the full &nbsp;sense&nbsp; enjoyed &nbsp;by &nbsp;others &nbsp;in &nbsp;society&nbsp; &nbsp;cannot &nbsp;be regarded as a matter &nbsp;of controversy requiring the lapse of time to cast &nbsp;clearer light on the&nbsp; issues involved. &nbsp;In short,&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; unsatisfactory&nbsp; &nbsp;situation&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;which&nbsp; &nbsp;post- operative transsexuals live in an&nbsp; intermediate zone &nbsp;as not&nbsp; &nbsp;quite&nbsp;&nbsp; one&nbsp; &nbsp;gender &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;other&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp;&nbsp; no&nbsp; &nbsp;longer sustainable.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; 33.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;European Court &nbsp;of Human&nbsp; &nbsp;Rights &nbsp;in &nbsp;the &nbsp;case of &nbsp;Van &nbsp; &nbsp; Kuck&nbsp; &nbsp;v. &nbsp;Germany (Application &nbsp;No.35968/97 &nbsp;&ndash; &nbsp;Judgment dated &nbsp; &nbsp; 12.9.2003) dealt with the&nbsp; application alleging that&nbsp; German Court&rsquo;s decisions &nbsp;refusing &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; applicant&rsquo;s &nbsp;claim &nbsp;for &nbsp;reimbursement &nbsp;of gender reassignment measures and &nbsp;the &nbsp;related proceedings were in breach of her &nbsp;rights to a fair trial and &nbsp;of her &nbsp;right to respect for her &nbsp;private life and &nbsp;that &nbsp;they &nbsp;amounted to&nbsp; discrimination on &nbsp;the ground&nbsp; &nbsp;of her &nbsp;particular &nbsp;&ldquo;psychological &nbsp;situation&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Reliance &nbsp;was &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; placed on Articles 6, 8, 13 and &nbsp;14 of the Convention for Protection of Human &nbsp;Rights and &nbsp;Fundamental Freedoms, 1997.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The&nbsp; Court held that the concept of &ldquo;private life&rdquo; covers the physical and psychological integrity of a person, which can &nbsp;sometimes embrace aspects&nbsp; of &nbsp;an&nbsp; &nbsp;individual&rsquo;s &nbsp;physical &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;social &nbsp;identity.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;For example, gender identifications, name and&nbsp; sexual orientation and sexual &nbsp;life &nbsp;fall &nbsp;within &nbsp;the &nbsp;personal &nbsp;sphere protected by &nbsp;Article &nbsp;8. The &nbsp;Court &nbsp;also &nbsp;held &nbsp;that &nbsp;the &nbsp;notion&nbsp; of &nbsp;personal &nbsp;identity&nbsp; is&nbsp; an important&nbsp; &nbsp;principle&nbsp; &nbsp;underlying&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; interpretation&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;various guaranteed rights and &nbsp;the &nbsp;very&nbsp; essence of the &nbsp;Convention being respect for human dignity and &nbsp;human freedom, protection is given to &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; right &nbsp;of &nbsp;transsexuals &nbsp;to &nbsp;personal &nbsp;development &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;to physical and moral security. &nbsp; &nbsp; 34.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Judgments &nbsp;referred&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;above &nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; mainly&nbsp; &nbsp;related&nbsp; &nbsp;to transsexuals, who, whilst belonging physically to one &nbsp;sex, feel convinced that &nbsp;they &nbsp;belong to the &nbsp;other, &nbsp;seek to achieve a&nbsp; more integrated&nbsp;&nbsp; unambiguous&nbsp;&nbsp; identity&nbsp;&nbsp; by&nbsp; &nbsp;undergoing&nbsp; &nbsp;medical&nbsp; &nbsp;and surgical&nbsp; operations to &nbsp;adapt their physical &nbsp;characteristic to &nbsp;their psychological nature. &nbsp;When &nbsp;we examine the&nbsp; rights of transsexual persons, who &nbsp;have &nbsp;undergone SRS, &nbsp;the &nbsp;test &nbsp;to be &nbsp;applied &nbsp;is &nbsp;not the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&ldquo;Biological&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;test&rdquo;,&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;but&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&ldquo;Psychological&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;test&rdquo;,&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;because &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; psychological factor and &nbsp;thinking of transsexual has to&nbsp; be &nbsp;given primacy &nbsp;than&nbsp;&nbsp; binary &nbsp;notion &nbsp;of &nbsp;gender of &nbsp;that &nbsp;person.&nbsp; &nbsp;Seldom people realize the&nbsp; discomfort, distress and &nbsp;psychological trauma, they&nbsp;&nbsp; undergo &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;many&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;them&nbsp; &nbsp;undergo &nbsp;&ldquo;Gender &nbsp;Dysphoria&rsquo; which may&nbsp; lead to mental disorder.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Discrimination faced by this group&nbsp; in our society, &nbsp;is rather &nbsp;unimaginable and&nbsp; their rights have &nbsp;to be&nbsp; protected, irrespective of chromosomal sex, genitals, assigned birth sex, or implied gender role. &nbsp;Rights of transgenders, pure &nbsp;and simple, &nbsp;like &nbsp;Hijras, &nbsp;eunuchs, etc. &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;also &nbsp;to &nbsp;be &nbsp;examined, &nbsp;so also their right to remain as a third gender as well as their physical and&nbsp;&nbsp; psychological &nbsp;integrity.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Before &nbsp;addressing those&nbsp; aspects further,&nbsp; we &nbsp;may &nbsp;also&nbsp; refer &nbsp;to &nbsp;few&nbsp; legislations &nbsp;enacted in &nbsp;other countries recognizing their rights. &nbsp; &nbsp; LEGISLATIONS IN OTHER COUNTRIES ON TGs &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 35.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;We &nbsp;notice,&nbsp; following &nbsp;the &nbsp;trend,&nbsp;&nbsp; in&nbsp; the &nbsp;international&nbsp; human rights &nbsp;law, &nbsp;many&nbsp; &nbsp;countries &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;enacted&nbsp; laws &nbsp;for &nbsp;recognizing rights of transsexual persons, who have &nbsp;undergone either partial/complete SRS, &nbsp;including United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Canada, Argentina, etc.&nbsp; &nbsp;United Kingdom has passed the &nbsp;General &nbsp;Recommendation &nbsp;Act, &nbsp;2004,&nbsp; &nbsp;following &nbsp;the &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; judgment in&nbsp; &nbsp;Christine Goodwin (supra) passed by the European Courts of Human &nbsp;Rights.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The Act is all encompassing as not only does&nbsp; it &nbsp;provide &nbsp;legal &nbsp;recognition &nbsp;to &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;acquired &nbsp;gender &nbsp;of &nbsp;a person, but &nbsp;it&nbsp; also lays down &nbsp;provisions highlighting the consequences of the &nbsp;newly acquired gender status on&nbsp; their legal rights and &nbsp;entitlements in various aspects such &nbsp;as marriage, parentage, succession, social security and &nbsp;pensions etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;One&nbsp; of the &nbsp;notable features of the &nbsp;Act is that &nbsp;it&nbsp; is not &nbsp;necessary that &nbsp;a person needs to have &nbsp;undergone or in the &nbsp;process of undergoing a SRS &nbsp;to apply under &nbsp;the &nbsp;Act.&nbsp; &nbsp;Reference in this connection may be&nbsp; made to the&nbsp; Equality Act, 2010 &nbsp;(UK) which has consolidated, repealed and replaced around nine different anti-discrimination legislations including the&nbsp; Sex &nbsp;Discrimination Act, 1986.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;Act defines certain characteristics to be &ldquo;protected characteristics&rdquo; and no&nbsp;&nbsp; one&nbsp; &nbsp;shall &nbsp;be&nbsp; &nbsp;discriminated &nbsp;or &nbsp;treated &nbsp;less &nbsp;favourably &nbsp;on grounds that &nbsp;the &nbsp;person possesses one &nbsp;or more &nbsp;of the &nbsp;&ldquo;protected characteristics&rdquo;. &nbsp;The&nbsp; Act also imposes duties on Public Bodies to eliminate all kinds of discrimination, harassment and&nbsp; victimization. Gender reassignment has been declared as one &nbsp;of the &nbsp;protected characteristics under &nbsp;the&nbsp; Act, of course, only the&nbsp; transsexuals i.e. those &nbsp;who&nbsp; &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;proposing &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;undergo, &nbsp;is&nbsp; &nbsp;undergoing&nbsp; &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;has &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; undergone the&nbsp; process of the &nbsp;gender reassignment are &nbsp;protected under &nbsp;the Act. &nbsp; &nbsp; 36.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;Australia, &nbsp;there&nbsp; &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;two &nbsp;Acts &nbsp;dealing &nbsp;with &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; gender identity, &nbsp;(1) &nbsp;Sex &nbsp;Discrimination&nbsp; Act, &nbsp;1984; &nbsp;and &nbsp;(ii) &nbsp;Sex Discrimination&nbsp; Amendment &nbsp;(Sexual&nbsp; Orientation,&nbsp; Gender Identity and&nbsp; Intersex Status) Act, 2013 &nbsp;(Act 2013).&nbsp; &nbsp;Act 2013&nbsp; amends the Sex&nbsp; Discrimination Act, 1984.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Act 2013 &nbsp;defines gender identity as the &nbsp;appearance or &nbsp;mannerisms&nbsp; or &nbsp;other &nbsp;gender-related characteristics of a person (whether by way of medical intervention or&nbsp; not) &nbsp;with or&nbsp; without regard to &nbsp;the &nbsp;person&rsquo;s designated sex at birth. Sections &nbsp;5(A), &nbsp;(B) &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;(C) &nbsp;of &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;2013&nbsp; &nbsp;Act &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;some relevance and the same are&nbsp; extracted hereinbelow:- &ldquo;5A&nbsp; &nbsp;Discrimination&nbsp; on &nbsp;the &nbsp;ground&nbsp; of &nbsp;sexual orientation &nbsp; &nbsp; (1) &nbsp;For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator) &nbsp;discriminates &nbsp;against &nbsp;another&nbsp; person (the &nbsp;aggrieved person) on the&nbsp; ground &nbsp;of the &nbsp;aggrieved person&rsquo;s sexual orientation if, by reason of: &nbsp; &nbsp; (a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the aggrieved person&rsquo;s sexual orientation; or (b)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;characteristic&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;appertains&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;generally&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;to persons who have &nbsp;the &nbsp;same sexual orientation as the aggrieved person; or (c)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp; &nbsp;characteristic&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;generally&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;imputed&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;to persons who have &nbsp;the &nbsp;same sexual orientation as the aggrieved person; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; the discriminator treats the aggrieved person less favourably &nbsp;than, &nbsp;in &nbsp;circumstances that &nbsp;are &nbsp;the &nbsp;same or are &nbsp;not &nbsp;materially&nbsp; different,&nbsp; the &nbsp;discriminator &nbsp;treats or would&nbsp; &nbsp;treat&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; a&nbsp; &nbsp;person &nbsp;who&nbsp; &nbsp;has &nbsp;a&nbsp; &nbsp;different&nbsp; &nbsp;sexual orientation. &nbsp; &nbsp; (2) &nbsp;For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator) &nbsp;discriminates &nbsp;against &nbsp;another&nbsp; person (the &nbsp;aggrieved person) on the&nbsp; ground &nbsp;of the &nbsp;aggrieved person&rsquo;s sexual orientation if the &nbsp;discriminator imposes, or &nbsp;proposes &nbsp;to &nbsp;impose, &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; condition, &nbsp;requirement &nbsp;or practice that has, &nbsp;or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging persons who have &nbsp;the same sexual orientation as the aggrieved person. &nbsp; &nbsp; (3)&nbsp; &nbsp;This &nbsp;section &nbsp;has effect &nbsp;subject &nbsp;to &nbsp;sections 7B&nbsp; and 7D. &nbsp; 5B &nbsp;Discrimination on the ground of gender identity &nbsp; &nbsp; (1) &nbsp;For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator) &nbsp;discriminates &nbsp;against &nbsp;another&nbsp; person (the &nbsp;aggrieved person) on the&nbsp; ground &nbsp;of the &nbsp;aggrieved person&rsquo;s gender identity if, by reason of: (a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the aggrieved person&rsquo;s gender identity; or (b)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;characteristic&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;appertains&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;generally&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;to persons who have &nbsp;the same gender identity as the aggrieved person; or (c)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp; &nbsp;characteristic&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;generally&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;imputed&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;to persons who have &nbsp;the same gender identity as the aggrieved person; &nbsp; &nbsp; the discriminator treats the aggrieved person less favourably &nbsp;than, &nbsp;in &nbsp;circumstances that &nbsp;are &nbsp;the &nbsp;same or are &nbsp;not &nbsp;materially&nbsp; different,&nbsp; the &nbsp;discriminator &nbsp;treats or would treat&nbsp; a person who has a different gender identity. &nbsp; &nbsp; (2) &nbsp;For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator) &nbsp;discriminates &nbsp;against &nbsp;another&nbsp; person (the &nbsp;aggrieved person) on the&nbsp; ground &nbsp;of the &nbsp;aggrieved person&rsquo;s gender identity if the &nbsp;discriminator imposes, or &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; proposes to impose, a condition, requirement or practice that has, &nbsp;or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging persons &nbsp;who &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; same &nbsp;gender identity &nbsp;as the aggrieved person. &nbsp; &nbsp; (3)&nbsp; &nbsp;This &nbsp;section &nbsp;has effect &nbsp;subject &nbsp;to &nbsp;sections 7B&nbsp; and 7D. &nbsp; 5C &nbsp;Discrimination on the ground of intersex status &nbsp; &nbsp; (1) &nbsp;For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator) &nbsp;discriminates &nbsp;against &nbsp;another&nbsp; person (the &nbsp;aggrieved person) on the&nbsp; ground &nbsp;of the &nbsp;aggrieved person&rsquo;s intersex status if, by reason of: (a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the aggrieved person&rsquo;s intersex status; or &nbsp; &nbsp; (b)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;characteristic&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;appertains&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;generally&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;to persons of intersex status; or &nbsp; &nbsp; (c)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp; &nbsp;characteristic&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;generally&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;imputed&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;to persons of intersex status; &nbsp; &nbsp; the discriminator treats the aggrieved person less favourably &nbsp;than, &nbsp;in &nbsp;circumstances that &nbsp;are &nbsp;the &nbsp;same or are &nbsp;not &nbsp;materially&nbsp; different,&nbsp; the &nbsp;discriminator &nbsp;treats or would treat&nbsp; a person who is not of intersex status. &nbsp; &nbsp; (2) &nbsp;For the purposes of this Act, a person (the discriminator) &nbsp;discriminates &nbsp;against &nbsp;another&nbsp; person (the &nbsp;aggrieved person) on the&nbsp; ground &nbsp;of the &nbsp;aggrieved person&rsquo;s intersex status if the&nbsp; discriminator imposes, or proposes to impose, a condition, requirement or practice that has, &nbsp;or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging persons of intersex status. &nbsp; &nbsp; (3)&nbsp; &nbsp;This &nbsp;section &nbsp;has effect &nbsp;subject &nbsp;to &nbsp;sections 7B&nbsp; and 7D.&rdquo; Various &nbsp;other &nbsp;precautions &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;also &nbsp;been provided&nbsp; &nbsp;under &nbsp; &nbsp; the Act. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 37.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;We &nbsp;may &nbsp;in&nbsp; this&nbsp; respect also&nbsp; refer &nbsp;to &nbsp;the &nbsp;European Union Legislations on&nbsp; transsexuals.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Recital 3 of the &nbsp;Preamble to the Directive 2006/54/EC of European Parliament and &nbsp;the Council of 5 July 2006 &nbsp;makes an&nbsp; explicit reference to discrimination based on gender reassignment for &nbsp;the &nbsp;first &nbsp;time &nbsp;in &nbsp;European Union&nbsp; Law. Recital 3 reads as under &nbsp;:- &ldquo;The Court&nbsp; of Justice has held that &nbsp;the &nbsp;scope of the principle of equal treatment for men&nbsp; and&nbsp; women &nbsp;cannot be confined to the prohibition of discrimination based on the fact that a person is of one &nbsp;or other &nbsp;sex. &nbsp;In view of this purpose and &nbsp;the&nbsp; nature of the rights which it seeks to &nbsp;safeguard,&nbsp; it &nbsp;also &nbsp;applies &nbsp;to &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;arising from the gender reassignment of a person.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 38.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;European Parliament also adopted a&nbsp; resolution on discrimination against transsexuals on&nbsp; 12th&nbsp; &nbsp;September, 1989 &nbsp;and called upon &nbsp;the&nbsp; Member &nbsp;States to take &nbsp;steps for the&nbsp; protection of transsexual&nbsp; persons and &nbsp;to &nbsp;pass legislation&nbsp; to &nbsp;further &nbsp;that &nbsp;end. Following &nbsp;that &nbsp;Hungary&nbsp; &nbsp;has&nbsp; &nbsp;enacted Equal&nbsp; Treatment and &nbsp;the Promotion of Equal Opportunities Act, 2003,&nbsp; which includes sexual identity &nbsp;as one &nbsp;of the &nbsp;grounds of discrimination.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;2010 &nbsp;paper on &lsquo;Transgender Persons&rsquo; Rights in the &nbsp;EU Member &nbsp;States prepared by the &nbsp;Policy &nbsp;Department of the &nbsp;European Parliament&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;presents the &nbsp;specific &nbsp;situation &nbsp;of transgender people &nbsp;in &nbsp;27 &nbsp;Member &nbsp;States of the &nbsp;European Union.&nbsp; &nbsp;In the &nbsp;United States of America some of &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; the &nbsp;laws &nbsp;enacted by the &nbsp;States are &nbsp;inconsistent &nbsp;with &nbsp;each other. The Federal Law which provides protection to transgenders is The Matthew &nbsp;Shepard and &nbsp;James Byrd. &nbsp;Jr. Hate &nbsp;Crimes &nbsp;Prevention Act,&nbsp; 2009, &nbsp;which expands the &nbsp;scope of the &nbsp;1969 &nbsp;United States Federal Hate-crime Law by including offences &nbsp;motivated by actual or&nbsp; perceived gender identity.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Around &nbsp;15 &nbsp;States and &nbsp;District of Colombia &nbsp;in&nbsp; the &nbsp;United&nbsp; States have&nbsp; &nbsp;legislations&nbsp; which &nbsp;prohibit discrimination on grounds of gender identity and&nbsp; expression. &nbsp;Few States have &nbsp;issued executive orders prohibiting discrimination. &nbsp; &nbsp; 39.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;Parliament&nbsp; of &nbsp;South&nbsp; &nbsp;Africa&nbsp; in&nbsp; the &nbsp;year &nbsp;2003, &nbsp;enacted Alteration &nbsp;of &nbsp;Sex &nbsp;Description &nbsp;and &nbsp;Sex &nbsp;Status Act, &nbsp;2003,&nbsp;&nbsp; which permits transgender persons who have &nbsp;undergone gender reassignment&nbsp;&nbsp; or&nbsp; &nbsp;people&nbsp; &nbsp;whose&nbsp; &nbsp;sexual&nbsp; &nbsp;characteristics&nbsp; &nbsp;have evolved naturally or an&nbsp; intersexed person to apply to the &nbsp;Director General of the &nbsp;National Department of Home &nbsp;Affairs for alteration of&nbsp; &nbsp;his/her&nbsp; &nbsp;sex &nbsp;description&nbsp;&nbsp; in&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;birth&nbsp;&nbsp; register,&nbsp;&nbsp; though&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the legislation &nbsp;does not &nbsp;contemplate &nbsp;a &nbsp;more&nbsp;&nbsp; inclusive &nbsp;definition &nbsp;of transgenders. &nbsp; &nbsp; 40.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;Senate of Argentina in the &nbsp;year &nbsp;2012 &nbsp;passed a law on &nbsp; &nbsp; Gender &nbsp;Identity&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;recognizes&nbsp; &nbsp;right&nbsp; &nbsp;by&nbsp; &nbsp;all&nbsp;&nbsp; persons &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; recognition of their gender identity as well as free development of their &nbsp;person&nbsp; according &nbsp;to &nbsp;their &nbsp;gender &nbsp;identity &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;can&nbsp; &nbsp;also request &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;their &nbsp;recorded&nbsp; sex &nbsp;be&nbsp; &nbsp;amended &nbsp;along &nbsp;with &nbsp;the changes in first name and&nbsp; image, whenever they do not agree with the&nbsp; &nbsp;self-perceived &nbsp;gender &nbsp;identity.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Not&nbsp;&nbsp; necessary &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;they seemed&nbsp; to &nbsp;prove&nbsp; &nbsp;that &nbsp;a &nbsp;surgical &nbsp;procedure &nbsp;for &nbsp;total &nbsp;or &nbsp;partial genital &nbsp;reassignment,&nbsp; hormonal &nbsp;therapies &nbsp;or &nbsp;any &nbsp;other psychological or&nbsp; medical treatment had &nbsp;taken &nbsp;place.&nbsp; &nbsp;Article 12 deals &nbsp;with &nbsp;dignified &nbsp;treatment, &nbsp;respecting &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; gender &nbsp;identity adopted by the&nbsp; individual, even &nbsp;though &nbsp;the&nbsp; first name is different from &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;one&nbsp; &nbsp;recorded &nbsp;in&nbsp;&nbsp; their&nbsp;&nbsp; national&nbsp;&nbsp; identity&nbsp;&nbsp; documents. Further&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;laws&nbsp; &nbsp;also&nbsp;&nbsp; provide&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;whenever &nbsp;requested&nbsp; &nbsp;by&nbsp; &nbsp;the individual, the&nbsp; adopted first name must &nbsp;be&nbsp; used for summoning, recording, &nbsp;filing, &nbsp;calling &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;any &nbsp;other&nbsp; &nbsp;procedure&nbsp; or &nbsp;service &nbsp;in public and private spaces. &nbsp; &nbsp; 41.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In Germany, a new law has come &nbsp;into force on 5th &nbsp;November, &nbsp; &nbsp; 2013, &nbsp;which &nbsp;allows &nbsp;the &nbsp;parents to register &nbsp;the &nbsp;sex of the &nbsp;children as &lsquo;not specified&rsquo; in the&nbsp; case of children with intersex variation. According to Article 22, Section 3 of the German Civil Statutes Act reads as follows:- &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &ldquo;If a child can&nbsp; be assigned to neither the female nor the male&nbsp; sex then &nbsp;the &nbsp;child has to &nbsp;be &nbsp;named without&nbsp; a specification&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 42.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;law has also added a category of X, apart &nbsp;from &ldquo;M&rdquo; and &nbsp; &nbsp; &ldquo;F&rdquo; under &nbsp;the classification of gender in the passports. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Indian Scenario &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 43. &nbsp;We have &nbsp;referred exhaustively to the various judicial pronouncements and legislations on the international arena to highlight the fact that the recognition of &ldquo;sex identity gender&rdquo; of persons, and&nbsp; &ldquo;guarantee to equality and &nbsp;non-discrimination&rdquo; on the ground &nbsp;of gender identity or expression is increasing and&nbsp; gaining acceptance in &nbsp;international &nbsp;law &nbsp;and, &nbsp;therefore, &nbsp;be &nbsp;applied &nbsp;in &nbsp;India as well. &nbsp; &nbsp; 44.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Historical background of Transgenders in India has already been dealth in the earlier part of this Judgment indicating that they were &nbsp;once &nbsp;treated with &nbsp;great &nbsp;respect, at least in &nbsp;the &nbsp;past, &nbsp;though not in the&nbsp; present. We can &nbsp;perceive a wide range of transgender related identities, cultures or experiences which are&nbsp; generally as follows: &ldquo;Hijras: &nbsp;Hijras&nbsp;&nbsp; are&nbsp; &nbsp;biological&nbsp; &nbsp;males&nbsp;&nbsp; who&nbsp; &nbsp;reject&nbsp;&nbsp; their &lsquo;masculine&rsquo; identity in due &nbsp;course of time to identify either &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; as&nbsp; &nbsp;women,&nbsp; or&nbsp; &nbsp;&ldquo;not-men&rdquo;,&nbsp; &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;&ldquo;in-between&nbsp; &nbsp;man&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;and woman&rdquo;, or &ldquo;neither man nor woman&rdquo;.&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijras can be considered as &nbsp;the &nbsp;western &nbsp;equivalent &nbsp;of transgender/transsexual (male-to-female) persons but Hijras have &nbsp;a long tradition/culture and&nbsp; have &nbsp;strong &nbsp;social ties formalized through &nbsp;a&nbsp; ritual called &ldquo;reet&rdquo; (becoming a member&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijra&nbsp; &nbsp;community).&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;regional variations &nbsp;in &nbsp;the &nbsp;use of &nbsp;terms&nbsp; referred &nbsp;to &nbsp;Hijras.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;For example, &nbsp;Kinnars &nbsp;(Delhi) &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; Aravanis &nbsp;(Tamil &nbsp;Nadu). Hijras may earn &nbsp;through &nbsp;their traditional work: &lsquo;Badhai&rsquo; (clapping their hands and&nbsp; asking &nbsp;for alms), blessing new- born &nbsp;babies, or dancing in ceremonies.&nbsp; &nbsp;Some proportion of Hijras engage in sex work for lack of other &nbsp;job opportunities, while some may &nbsp;be&nbsp; self-employed or work for &nbsp;non-governmental &nbsp;organisations.&rdquo;&nbsp; (See UNDP &nbsp;India Report &nbsp;(December, 2010). &nbsp; &nbsp; Eunuch: &nbsp;Eunuch refers to an emasculated male and intersexed to&nbsp; a &nbsp;person whose genitals are &nbsp;ambiguously male-like&nbsp; &nbsp;at&nbsp; &nbsp;birth,&nbsp; &nbsp;but&nbsp; &nbsp;this&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp; &nbsp;discovered&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; child previously&nbsp; assigned to &nbsp;the &nbsp;male &nbsp;sex, would &nbsp;be recategorized as intesexexd &ndash; as a Hijra. &nbsp; &nbsp; &ldquo;Aravanis &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;&lsquo;Thirunangi&rsquo; &nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hijras &nbsp;in &nbsp;Tamil &nbsp;Nadu identify &nbsp;as &ldquo;Aravani&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Tamil &nbsp;Nadu&nbsp;&nbsp; Aravanigal &nbsp;Welfare Board,&nbsp; &nbsp;a &nbsp;state government&rsquo;s &nbsp;initiative&nbsp; under&nbsp; &nbsp;the Department &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;Social&nbsp; &nbsp;Welfare&nbsp; &nbsp;defines&nbsp; &nbsp;Aravanis&nbsp; &nbsp;as biological males who self-identify themselves as a woman trapped in &nbsp;a &nbsp;male&rsquo;s &nbsp;body.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Some Aravani &nbsp;activists &nbsp;want the&nbsp; public and &nbsp;media to use the&nbsp; term &nbsp;&lsquo;Thirunangi&rsquo; to refer to Aravanis. &nbsp; &nbsp; Kothi &ndash; Kothis &nbsp;are &nbsp;a heterogeneous group.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&lsquo;Kothis&rsquo; &nbsp;can be&nbsp; &nbsp;described &nbsp;as &nbsp;biological &nbsp;males &nbsp;who&nbsp;&nbsp; show&nbsp; &nbsp;varying degrees of &lsquo;femininity&rsquo; &ndash; which may&nbsp; be&nbsp; situational. &nbsp;Some proportion &nbsp;of &nbsp;Kothis &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;bisexual &nbsp;behavior&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;get married to a woman.&nbsp; &nbsp;Kothis are generally of lower socioeconomic status and &nbsp;some engage in sex work for survival.&nbsp;&nbsp; Some proportion of Hijra-identified people may also&nbsp; identify&nbsp; themselves &nbsp;as &lsquo;Kothis&rsquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;But &nbsp;not &nbsp;all &nbsp;Kothi identified &nbsp;people &nbsp;identify &nbsp;themselves &nbsp;as transgender or Hijras. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jogtas/Jogappas: Jogtas or Jogappas are &nbsp;those persons who &nbsp;are &nbsp;dedicated to and &nbsp;serve as a &nbsp;servant of goddess Renukha Devi (Yellamma) whose temples are&nbsp; present in Maharashtra and&nbsp; Karnataka. &nbsp;&lsquo;Jogta&rsquo; refers to male servant of that Goddess and &nbsp;&lsquo;Jogti&rsquo; refers to female servant (who is also &nbsp;sometimes &nbsp;referred &nbsp;to &nbsp;as&nbsp; &lsquo;Devadasi&rsquo;).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;One&nbsp; &nbsp;can become &nbsp;a &nbsp;&lsquo;Jogta&rsquo; &nbsp;(or &nbsp;Jogti) &nbsp;if &nbsp;it&nbsp;&nbsp; is &nbsp;part&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;their &nbsp;family tradition or&nbsp; if &nbsp;one &nbsp;finds a &nbsp;&lsquo;Guru&rsquo; (or &nbsp;&lsquo;Pujari&rsquo;) who &nbsp;accepts him/her as a &lsquo;Chela&rsquo; or &lsquo;Shishya&rsquo; (disciple). &nbsp;Sometimes, the term&nbsp; &lsquo;Jogti Hijras&rsquo; is used to denote those male-to-female transgender&nbsp; &nbsp;persons&nbsp; &nbsp;who&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; devotees/servants&nbsp; &nbsp;of Goddess Renukha Devi and &nbsp;who are &nbsp;also in the Hijra communities.&nbsp; &nbsp;This term &nbsp;is used to differentiate them &nbsp;from &lsquo;Jogtas&rsquo; who&nbsp; are &nbsp;heterosexuals and &nbsp;who &nbsp;may &nbsp;or may &nbsp;not dress in &nbsp;woman&rsquo;s &nbsp;attire &nbsp;when &nbsp;they &nbsp;worship &nbsp;the &nbsp;Goddess. Also, &nbsp;that &nbsp;term &nbsp;differentiates &nbsp;them &nbsp;from &nbsp;&lsquo;Jogtis&rsquo; &nbsp;who &nbsp;are biological &nbsp;females &nbsp;dedicated &nbsp;to &nbsp;the &nbsp;Goddess.&nbsp; &nbsp;However, &lsquo;Jogti&nbsp; Hijras&rsquo; &nbsp;may &nbsp;refer &nbsp;to &nbsp;themselves&nbsp; as &lsquo;Jogti&rsquo;&nbsp; (female pronoun) or Hijras, and even &nbsp;sometimes as &lsquo;Jogtas&rsquo;. &nbsp; &nbsp; Shiv-Shakthis:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Shiv-Shakthis &nbsp;are &nbsp;considered as males who &nbsp;are &nbsp;possessed by or&nbsp; particularly &nbsp;close to a &nbsp;goddess and&nbsp; who have &nbsp;feminine gender expression. &nbsp;Usually, Shiv- Shakthis are &nbsp;inducted into the&nbsp; Shiv-Shakti community by senior&nbsp; gurus,&nbsp; &nbsp;who &nbsp;teach them &nbsp;the &nbsp;norms,&nbsp; &nbsp;customs, and rituals &nbsp;to &nbsp;be &nbsp;observed&nbsp; by &nbsp;them.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;a &nbsp;ceremony, &nbsp;Shiv- Shakthis &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;married &nbsp;to &nbsp;a &nbsp;sword &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; represents &nbsp;male power&nbsp;&nbsp; or &nbsp;Shiva &nbsp;(deity).&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Shiv-Shakthis &nbsp;thus become the bride &nbsp;of &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; sword.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Occasionally, &nbsp;Shiv-Shakthis &nbsp;cross- dress and &nbsp;use accessories and &nbsp;ornaments that&nbsp; are generally/socially meant for women.&nbsp; &nbsp;Most&nbsp; people in this community belong to lower socio-economic status and&nbsp; earn for &nbsp;their &nbsp;living &nbsp;as astrologers, &nbsp;soothsayers, &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; spiritual healers; some also seek alms.&rdquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;(See Serena Nanda, Wadsworth&nbsp; Publishing&nbsp; Company, Second &nbsp;Edition (1999) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 45.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Transgender &nbsp;people, &nbsp;as a &nbsp;whole, &nbsp;face &nbsp;multiple &nbsp;forms &nbsp;of oppression &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;this&nbsp; &nbsp;country.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Discrimination&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp; &nbsp;so&nbsp; &nbsp;large&nbsp; &nbsp;and &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; pronounced, especially&nbsp; in&nbsp; the &nbsp;field&nbsp; of &nbsp;health&nbsp; care, employment, education, &nbsp;leave &nbsp;aside social &nbsp;exclusion.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A detailed &nbsp;study &nbsp;was conducted&nbsp;&nbsp; by&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;United&nbsp; &nbsp;Nations&nbsp; &nbsp;Development&nbsp; &nbsp;Programme (UNDP &nbsp;&ndash; &nbsp;India) &nbsp;and &nbsp;submitted &nbsp;a &nbsp;report &nbsp;in&nbsp; December, 2010 &nbsp;on Hijras/transgenders in India: &ldquo;HIV Human &nbsp;Rights and Social Exclusion&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;Report &nbsp;states that &nbsp;the &nbsp;HIV&nbsp; Human Immunodeficiency Virus and &nbsp;Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) is now&nbsp; increasingly seen in Hijras/transgenders population.&nbsp; &nbsp;The estimated &nbsp;size &nbsp;of men &nbsp;who &nbsp;have &nbsp;sex with &nbsp;men &nbsp;(MSM) and &nbsp;male sex workers population in India (latter presumably includes Hijras/ TG communities) is 2,352,133 and &nbsp;235,213 respectively.&nbsp;&nbsp; It was stated &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;no&nbsp;&nbsp; reliable &nbsp;estimates &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;available &nbsp;for &nbsp;Hijras/TG women.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; HIV &nbsp;prevalence &nbsp;among &nbsp;MSM &nbsp;population &nbsp;was &nbsp;7.4% against the &nbsp;overall adult HIV prevalence of 0.36%.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It was stated recently &nbsp;Hijras/TG &nbsp;people &nbsp;were&nbsp;&nbsp; included &nbsp;under&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp;category of MSM in HIV sentinel serosurveillance. &nbsp;It is also reported in recent studies that Hijras/TG women &nbsp;have &nbsp;indicated a very high HIV prevalence&nbsp; (17.5% &nbsp;to &nbsp;41%) &nbsp;among them.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Study &nbsp;conducted by NACO&nbsp; also highlights a &nbsp;pathetic situation.&nbsp; &nbsp;Report &nbsp;submitted by NACI, NACP&nbsp; IV Working Group &nbsp;Hijras TG dated 5.5.2011 would indicate that &nbsp;transgenders are &nbsp;extremely vulnerable to HIV.&nbsp; &nbsp;Both &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; the &nbsp;reports&nbsp; highlight &nbsp;the &nbsp;extreme necessity &nbsp;of &nbsp;taking &nbsp;emergent steps&nbsp; to &nbsp;improve &nbsp;their &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;health, &nbsp;mental &nbsp;health &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;also address the issue of social exclusion. &nbsp;The UNDP in its report &nbsp;has made the following recommendations, which are as under: &ldquo;Multiple&nbsp; &nbsp;problems&nbsp; &nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;faced&nbsp; &nbsp;by&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hijras/TG,&nbsp; &nbsp;which necessitate&nbsp; a &nbsp;variety &nbsp;of &nbsp;solutions &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;actions.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;While some actions require immediate implementation such &nbsp;as introducing&nbsp;&nbsp; Hijra/TG-specific&nbsp;&nbsp; social&nbsp;&nbsp; welfare&nbsp; &nbsp;schemes, some &nbsp;actions &nbsp;need &nbsp;to &nbsp;be&nbsp;&nbsp; taken&nbsp; &nbsp;on &nbsp;a &nbsp;long-term &nbsp;basis changing the &nbsp;negative attitude of the&nbsp; general public and increasing&nbsp; accurate knowledge&nbsp; about&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijra/TG communities.&nbsp; &nbsp;The required changes need to be reflected in policies and &nbsp;laws; attitude of the&nbsp; government, general public and&nbsp; health care &nbsp;providers; and&nbsp; health care &nbsp;systems and &nbsp;practice.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Key &nbsp;recommendations &nbsp;include&nbsp; the following: &nbsp; &nbsp; 1.&nbsp; &nbsp;Address the gape in NACP-III: &nbsp;establish HIV sentinel serosurveillance&nbsp; sites for &nbsp;Hijras/TG &nbsp;at &nbsp;strategic locations; conduct operations research to&nbsp; design and fine-tune culturally-relevant package of HIV prevention and&nbsp; care &nbsp;interventions for Hijras/TG; provide financial support for the &nbsp;formation &nbsp;of CBOs run &nbsp;by &nbsp;Hijras/TG; and &nbsp;build the&nbsp; capacity of CBOs to implement effective rogrammes. &nbsp; &nbsp; 2. Move &nbsp;beyond &nbsp;focusing &nbsp;on &nbsp;individual-level &nbsp;HIV prevention activities to address the structural determinants &nbsp;of &nbsp;risks&nbsp; and &nbsp;mitigate the &nbsp;impact&nbsp; &nbsp;of risks.&nbsp; &nbsp;For&nbsp; example, mental health counseling, crisis intervention (crisis in relation to suicidal tendencies, police&nbsp; &nbsp;harassment&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;arrests,&nbsp; &nbsp;support &nbsp;following sexual and &nbsp;physical violence), addressing alcohol and drug&nbsp; abuse, and &nbsp;connecting to livelihood programs all need to be part of the HIV interventions. &nbsp; &nbsp; 3.&nbsp; &nbsp;Train health&nbsp; &nbsp;care &nbsp;providers&nbsp; to &nbsp;be &nbsp;competent and sensitive in &nbsp;providing &nbsp;health &nbsp;care &nbsp;services &nbsp;(including &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; STI and &nbsp;HIV-related services) to Hijras/TG as well as develop&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;monitor&nbsp; &nbsp;implementation&nbsp;&nbsp; of &nbsp;&nbsp;guidelines related &nbsp;to &nbsp;gender &nbsp;transition &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;sex&nbsp; reassignment surgery (SRS). &nbsp; &nbsp; 4.&nbsp; &nbsp;Clarify the ambiguous legal status of sex reassignment surgery &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;provide &nbsp;gender &nbsp;transition &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; SRS services (with proper &nbsp;pre-and post-operation/transition counseling) for free in public hospitals in various parts in India. &nbsp; &nbsp; 5. Implement stigma and discrimination reduction measures &nbsp;at&nbsp;&nbsp; various &nbsp;settings &nbsp;through&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; variety &nbsp;of ways: mass media awareness for the general public to focused training and&nbsp; sensitization for police and&nbsp; health care &nbsp;providers. &nbsp; &nbsp; 6.&nbsp; &nbsp;Develop action steps toward &nbsp;taking a position on legal recognition &nbsp;of gender &nbsp;identity &nbsp;of Hijras/TG &nbsp;need to be&nbsp; taken &nbsp;in consultation with Hijras/TG and &nbsp;other &nbsp;key stakeholders.&nbsp; &nbsp;Getting legal recognition and&nbsp; avoiding ambiguities&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; current&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;procedures&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; issue identity &nbsp;documents to Hijras/TGs &nbsp;are &nbsp;required &nbsp;as they are &nbsp;connected to basic &nbsp;civil rights such &nbsp;as access to health and public services, right to vote, right to contest elections, right to education, inheritance rights, and marriage and child adoption. &nbsp; &nbsp; 7.&nbsp; &nbsp;Open&nbsp; &nbsp;up &nbsp;the &nbsp;existing &nbsp;Social&nbsp; Welfare &nbsp;Schemes for needy Hijras/TG &nbsp;and &nbsp;create specific &nbsp;welfare &nbsp;schemes to &nbsp;address &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; basic&nbsp; &nbsp;needs&nbsp; of &nbsp;Hijras/TG &nbsp;including housing and employment needs. &nbsp; &nbsp; 8. Ensure&nbsp; &nbsp;greater&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;involvement&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;vulnerable communities including Hijras/TG women &nbsp;in policy formulation and program development.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 46.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Social exclusion and &nbsp;discrimination on the &nbsp;ground &nbsp;of gender stating&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;one&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;does&nbsp; &nbsp;not&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;conform&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;binary&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;gender &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (male/female) does prevail in India.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Discussion on gender identity including&nbsp; &nbsp;self-identification&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;gender&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;male/female&nbsp; &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;as transgender mostly focuses on&nbsp; those persons who &nbsp;are &nbsp;assigned male &nbsp;sex at birth, &nbsp;whether one &nbsp;talks &nbsp;of Hijra &nbsp;transgender, woman or &nbsp;male &nbsp;or &nbsp;male &nbsp;to &nbsp;female &nbsp;transgender persons,&nbsp; while &nbsp;concern voiced by those who are &nbsp;identified as female to male trans-sexual persons often not properly addressed. Female to male unlike Hijra/ transgender persons are &nbsp;not quite visible in public unlike Hijra/transgender persons.&nbsp; Many of them, &nbsp;however, do experience violence and &nbsp;discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. &nbsp; &nbsp; INDIA TO FOLLOW INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 47.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; International Conventions and &nbsp;norms are &nbsp;significant for the purpose &nbsp;of &nbsp;interpretation &nbsp;of &nbsp;gender&nbsp; equality.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article &nbsp;1 &nbsp;of &nbsp;the Universal &nbsp;declaration &nbsp;on&nbsp;&nbsp; Human&nbsp; &nbsp;Rights, &nbsp;1948,&nbsp; &nbsp;states &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;all human-beings are &nbsp;born free and &nbsp;equal in dignity and &nbsp;rights. &nbsp;Article 3&nbsp;&nbsp; of &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Universal &nbsp;Declaration &nbsp;of &nbsp;Human&nbsp; &nbsp;Rights &nbsp;states &nbsp;that everyone has a right to life, liberty and &nbsp;security of person. Article 6 of the &nbsp;International Covenant on &nbsp;Civil&nbsp; and &nbsp;Political Rights, 1966 affirms that every &nbsp;human-being has the inherent right to life, which &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; right &nbsp;shall &nbsp;be &nbsp;protected &nbsp;by &nbsp;law &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; no &nbsp;one&nbsp;&nbsp; shall &nbsp;be &nbsp;arbitrarily deprived&nbsp; of &nbsp;his&nbsp; life.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article&nbsp; 5 &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;Universal&nbsp; Declaration&nbsp; of Human &nbsp;Rights and &nbsp;Article 7 of the &nbsp;International Covenant on Civil and&nbsp;&nbsp; Political &nbsp;Rights &nbsp;provide &nbsp;that &nbsp;no &nbsp;one&nbsp;&nbsp; shall &nbsp;be &nbsp;subjected &nbsp;to torture&nbsp; or to cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. United&nbsp;&nbsp; Nations&nbsp;&nbsp; Convention&nbsp; &nbsp;against&nbsp; &nbsp;Torture&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;Other&nbsp; &nbsp;Cruel Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (dated 24th January, 2008)&nbsp; specifically deals with protection of individuals and groups &nbsp;made &nbsp;vulnerable &nbsp;by&nbsp;&nbsp; discrimination &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;marginalization. Para 21 of the Convention states that States are &nbsp;obliged to protect from torture &nbsp;or ill-treatment all persons regardless of sexual orientation &nbsp;or &nbsp;transgender&nbsp; identity &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;prohibit, &nbsp;prevent &nbsp;and provide redress for torture&nbsp; and &nbsp;ill-treatment in all contests of State custody &nbsp;or &nbsp;control.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article &nbsp;12 &nbsp;of &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; Universal &nbsp;Declaration &nbsp;of Human &nbsp;Rights and&nbsp; Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and&nbsp; &nbsp;Political &nbsp;Rights &nbsp;state &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;no&nbsp;&nbsp; one&nbsp; &nbsp;shall &nbsp;be&nbsp; &nbsp;subjected &nbsp;to &ldquo;arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home &nbsp;or correspondence&rdquo;. &nbsp; &nbsp; 48.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Above-mentioned &nbsp;International &nbsp;Human&nbsp; &nbsp;Rights &nbsp;instruments which &nbsp;are &nbsp;being &nbsp;followed &nbsp;by &nbsp;various &nbsp;countries &nbsp;in&nbsp; the &nbsp;world &nbsp;are aimed &nbsp;to protect &nbsp;the &nbsp;human rights &nbsp;of transgender people &nbsp;since &nbsp;it &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; has &nbsp;been &nbsp;noticed&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; transgenders/transsexuals&nbsp; &nbsp;often&nbsp; &nbsp;face serious human rights violations, such &nbsp;as harassment in work place, hospitals, places of public conveniences, market &nbsp;places, theaters, railway stations, bus stands, and so on. &nbsp; &nbsp; 49.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Indian Law,&nbsp; on &nbsp;the &nbsp;whole, only recognizes the &nbsp;paradigm of binary &nbsp;genders&nbsp; of &nbsp;male &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;female, &nbsp;based on &nbsp;a &nbsp;person&rsquo;s &nbsp;sex assigned by birth, which permits gender system, including the&nbsp; law relating&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;marriage,&nbsp; &nbsp;adoption,&nbsp; &nbsp;inheritance,&nbsp; &nbsp;succession&nbsp;&nbsp; and taxation and &nbsp;welfare legislations.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;We have &nbsp;exhaustively referred to various articles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, &nbsp;the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural &nbsp;Rights, &nbsp;1966,&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; International &nbsp;Covenant &nbsp;on &nbsp;Civil &nbsp;and Political&nbsp; &nbsp;Rights,&nbsp;&nbsp; 1966&nbsp; &nbsp;as &nbsp;well&nbsp; &nbsp;as &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Yogyakarta &nbsp;principles. Reference &nbsp;was &nbsp;also &nbsp;made&nbsp; to&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;legislations &nbsp;enacted&nbsp; in &nbsp;other countries dealing with rights of persons of transgender community. Unfortunately &nbsp;we &nbsp;have &nbsp;no &nbsp;legislation &nbsp;in &nbsp;this &nbsp;country &nbsp;dealing &nbsp;with the &nbsp;rights &nbsp;of &nbsp;transgender&nbsp; community.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Due &nbsp;to &nbsp;the &nbsp;absence of suitable&nbsp; legislation&nbsp; protecting&nbsp; the &nbsp;rights&nbsp; of &nbsp;the &nbsp;members of &nbsp;the transgender community, they&nbsp; are &nbsp;facing discrimination in various areas and &nbsp;hence the&nbsp; necessity to follow the &nbsp;International Conventions &nbsp;to which &nbsp;India &nbsp;is &nbsp;a &nbsp;party &nbsp;and &nbsp;to give &nbsp;due &nbsp;respect to &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; other non-binding International Conventions and principles. Constitution makers could not have &nbsp;envisaged that each and every human activity &nbsp;be &nbsp;guided, &nbsp;controlled, &nbsp;recognized &nbsp;or&nbsp; safeguarded by laws made by the legislature.&nbsp; &nbsp;Article 21 has been incorporated to safeguard those rights and &nbsp;a&nbsp; constitutional Court &nbsp;cannot be &nbsp;a mute &nbsp;spectator when &nbsp;those rights are&nbsp; violated, but is expected to safeguard those rights knowing the pulse and feeling of that community, though &nbsp;a&nbsp; minority, especially when &nbsp;their rights have gained universal recognition and acceptance. &nbsp; &nbsp; 50.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Article &nbsp;253&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Constitution &nbsp;of &nbsp;India &nbsp;states &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;the Parliament &nbsp;has the &nbsp;power &nbsp;to make &nbsp;any &nbsp;law &nbsp;for the &nbsp;whole &nbsp;or any part of the territory of India for implementing any treaty, &nbsp;agreement or&nbsp; convention.&nbsp; &nbsp;Generally, therefore, a &nbsp;legislation is required for implementing &nbsp;the &nbsp;international &nbsp;conventions, &nbsp;unlike &nbsp;the &nbsp;position &nbsp;in the &nbsp;United &nbsp;States of America &nbsp;where &nbsp;the &nbsp;rules &nbsp;of international &nbsp;law are &nbsp;applied by the&nbsp; municipal courts on the&nbsp; theory &nbsp;of their implied adoption by the &nbsp;State, as a part &nbsp;of its own municipal law.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article VI, Cl. (2) of the U.S. Constitution reads as follows: &ldquo;&hellip;&hellip;..all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the united States, shall be the supreme law of the&nbsp; land, and &nbsp;the&nbsp; judges in every &nbsp;State shall be bound &nbsp;thereby, anything in the&nbsp; Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary not-withstanding.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 51.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;the &nbsp;United&nbsp; States, &nbsp;however, it &nbsp;is &nbsp;open&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;the &nbsp;courts to supersede or modify international law in its application or it may be controlled by the treaties entered into by the United States. &nbsp;But, till an &nbsp;Act of Congress is passed, the &nbsp;Court&nbsp; is bound &nbsp;by the &nbsp;law of nations, which is part &nbsp;of the &nbsp;law of the &nbsp;land.&nbsp; &nbsp;Such &nbsp;a&nbsp; &lsquo;supremacy clause&rsquo; &nbsp;is &nbsp;absent in &nbsp;our &nbsp;Constitution.&nbsp; &nbsp;Courts in &nbsp;India &nbsp;would &nbsp;apply the rules of International law according to the principles of comity of Nations, unless they are&nbsp; overridden by clear &nbsp;rules of domestic law. See: Gramophone Company of India Ltd. &nbsp;v. Birendra Bahadur Pandey (1984) &nbsp;2 SCC &nbsp;534 and &nbsp;Tractor Export v. Tarapore &amp; Co. (1969)&nbsp; &nbsp;3 &nbsp;SCC&nbsp; &nbsp;562,&nbsp;&nbsp; Mirza &nbsp;Ali &nbsp;Akbar&nbsp; &nbsp;Kashani &nbsp;v. &nbsp;United &nbsp;Arab Republic&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;(1966)&nbsp; &nbsp;1 &nbsp;SCR&nbsp; &nbsp;391.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; case of &nbsp;Jolly&nbsp; &nbsp;George Varghese v. Bank &nbsp;of Cochin (1980) &nbsp;2 SCC &nbsp;360, the Court applied the above principle in respect of the International Covenant on Civil and&nbsp; &nbsp;Political &nbsp;Rights, &nbsp;1966&nbsp; &nbsp;as&nbsp; well &nbsp;as &nbsp;in &nbsp;connection &nbsp;with &nbsp;the Universal&nbsp; Declaration&nbsp; of &nbsp;Human&nbsp; &nbsp;Rights.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;India&nbsp; has ratified &nbsp;the above mentioned covenants, hence, those covenants can &nbsp;be&nbsp; used by the &nbsp;municipal &nbsp;courts as an &nbsp;aid &nbsp;to the &nbsp;Interpretation &nbsp;of Statutes by applying the &nbsp;Doctrine of Harmonization.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;But,&nbsp; certainly, if &nbsp;the Indian law is not in conflict with the International covenants, particularly pertaining to human rights, to which India is a party, &nbsp;the &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; domestic court&nbsp; can &nbsp;apply those principles in the &nbsp;Indian conditions. The Interpretation of International Conventions is governed by Articles 31 and &nbsp;32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969. &nbsp; &nbsp; 52.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article &nbsp;51 &nbsp;of the &nbsp;Directive &nbsp;Principles &nbsp;of State Policy,&nbsp; which falls under &nbsp;Part IV of the Indian Constitution, reads as under: &ldquo;Art. 51. &nbsp;The State shall endeavour to &ndash; (a) promote international peace and security; (b)&nbsp; &nbsp;maintain just and honourable relations between nations; &nbsp; &nbsp; (c) Foster &nbsp;respect&nbsp; &nbsp;for&nbsp; &nbsp;international&nbsp; &nbsp;law&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;treaty obligation in the&nbsp; dealings of organised peoples with one another; and &nbsp; &nbsp; (d) Encourage &nbsp;settlement &nbsp;of &nbsp;international &nbsp;disputes &nbsp;by arbitration.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; 53.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article 51, &nbsp;as already indicated, has to&nbsp; be &nbsp;read &nbsp;along with Article 253 &nbsp;of the &nbsp;Constitution.&nbsp; &nbsp;If&nbsp; the &nbsp;parliament has made any legislation which is in conflict with the international law, then&nbsp; Indian Courts are &nbsp;bound &nbsp;to give effect to the&nbsp; Indian Law, rather &nbsp;than &nbsp;the international&nbsp; &nbsp;law.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;However,&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; absence &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp; &nbsp;contrary legislation,&nbsp; municipal &nbsp;courts in &nbsp;India&nbsp; would &nbsp;respect the &nbsp;rules &nbsp;of international law.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadavalvaru &nbsp;v. &nbsp;State of &nbsp;Kerala&nbsp; &nbsp;(1973)&nbsp; &nbsp;4 &nbsp;SCC&nbsp; &nbsp;225,&nbsp; &nbsp;it &nbsp;was &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; stated that &nbsp;in view of Article 51 of the &nbsp;Constitution, the&nbsp; Court &nbsp;must interpret language of the &nbsp;Constitution, if not intractable, in the &nbsp;light of United Nations Charter and &nbsp;the solemn declaration subscribed to it &nbsp;by &nbsp;India.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;Apparel &nbsp;Export &nbsp;Promotion &nbsp;Council&nbsp; v. &nbsp;A. &nbsp;K. Chopra (1999) &nbsp;1 SCC &nbsp;759, &nbsp;it was pointed out that domestic courts are&nbsp;&nbsp; under&nbsp; &nbsp;an &nbsp;obligation &nbsp;to &nbsp;give &nbsp;due&nbsp; &nbsp;regard to &nbsp;the &nbsp;international conventions and &nbsp;norms for construing the&nbsp; domestic laws, more &nbsp;so, when &nbsp;there &nbsp;is no inconsistency between them &nbsp;and&nbsp; there &nbsp;is a void in domestic &nbsp;law. &nbsp;Reference &nbsp;may &nbsp;also &nbsp;be &nbsp;made to the &nbsp;Judgments of this Court in Githa &nbsp;Hariharan &nbsp;(Ms) and &nbsp;another v. Reserve Bank of India and &nbsp;another (1999) &nbsp;2 SCC &nbsp;228, R.D. Upadhyay &nbsp;v. State of Andhra Pradesh and &nbsp;others (2007) &nbsp;15 SCC &nbsp;337 and &nbsp;People&rsquo;s Union &nbsp;for Civil Liberties &nbsp;v. Union &nbsp;of India and &nbsp;another (2005) &nbsp;2 SCC &nbsp;436.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;Vishaka&nbsp; and &nbsp;others v. &nbsp;State of &nbsp;Rajasthan and Others (1997) &nbsp;6 SCC &nbsp;241, &nbsp;this Court &nbsp;under &nbsp;Article 141&nbsp; laid down various &nbsp;guidelines &nbsp;to &nbsp;prevent &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;harassment&nbsp; of &nbsp;women&nbsp; &nbsp;in working &nbsp;places, &nbsp;and &nbsp;to enable &nbsp;gender equality &nbsp;relying &nbsp;on &nbsp;Articles 11,&nbsp; &nbsp;24&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;general &nbsp;recommendations &nbsp;22,&nbsp; &nbsp;23&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;24&nbsp;&nbsp; of &nbsp;the Convention &nbsp;on&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp; &nbsp;Elimination &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;All &nbsp;Forms &nbsp;of &nbsp;Discrimination against Women. Any international convention not inconsistent with the &nbsp;fundamental rights and &nbsp;in harmony with &nbsp;its spirit must &nbsp;be &nbsp;read &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; into &nbsp;those &nbsp;provisions, &nbsp;e.g.,&nbsp; &nbsp;Articles &nbsp;14,&nbsp;&nbsp; 15,&nbsp;&nbsp; 19 &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;21 &nbsp;of &nbsp;the Constitution&nbsp; to &nbsp;enlarge&nbsp; the &nbsp;meaning&nbsp; and &nbsp;content thereof&nbsp; and &nbsp;to promote&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; object&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;constitutional&nbsp; &nbsp;guarantee.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Principles discussed hereinbefore on TGs and &nbsp;the&nbsp; International Conventions, including&nbsp; &nbsp;Yogyakarta&nbsp; &nbsp;principles,&nbsp; &nbsp;which&nbsp; &nbsp;we&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; have&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;found&nbsp; &nbsp;not inconsistent with the&nbsp; various fundamental rights guaranteed under the &nbsp;Indian &nbsp;Constitution, &nbsp;must &nbsp;be &nbsp;recognized &nbsp;and &nbsp;followed, &nbsp;which has sufficient legal and historical justification in our country. &nbsp; &nbsp; ARTICLE 14 AND TRANSGENDERS &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 54.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article &nbsp;14 &nbsp;of the &nbsp;Constitution &nbsp;of India &nbsp;states that &nbsp;the &nbsp;State shall not deny &nbsp;to &ldquo;any person&rdquo; equality before the&nbsp; law or the&nbsp; equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. &nbsp;Equality includes the &nbsp;full&nbsp; and &nbsp;equal enjoyment of all rights and &nbsp;freedom.&nbsp; &nbsp;Right to equality has been declared as the basic &nbsp;feature of the&nbsp; Constitution and &nbsp;treatment of equals as unequals or unequals as equals will be violative of the basic &nbsp;structure of the Constitution. &nbsp;Article 14 of the Constitution &nbsp;also&nbsp; ensures equal&nbsp; protection&nbsp; and &nbsp;hence a &nbsp;positive obligation &nbsp;on &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; State &nbsp;to &nbsp;ensure &nbsp;equal &nbsp;protection &nbsp;of &nbsp;laws &nbsp;by bringing &nbsp;in &nbsp;necessary&nbsp; social &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;economic &nbsp;changes, &nbsp;so&nbsp; &nbsp;that everyone including &nbsp;TGs may &nbsp;enjoy &nbsp;equal &nbsp;protection &nbsp;of laws &nbsp;and &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; nobody &nbsp;is denied such &nbsp;protection. Article 14 &nbsp;does not&nbsp; restrict the word &lsquo;person&rsquo; and its application only to male or female. Hijras/transgender persons who are &nbsp;neither male/female fall within the&nbsp; expression &lsquo;person&rsquo; and, &nbsp;hence, entitled to legal protection of laws&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp;&nbsp; all&nbsp;&nbsp; spheres &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;State &nbsp;activity,&nbsp; &nbsp;including&nbsp;&nbsp; employment, healthcare, &nbsp;education &nbsp;as well &nbsp;as equal &nbsp;civil and &nbsp;citizenship &nbsp;rights, as enjoyed by any other citizen of this country. &nbsp; &nbsp; 55.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Petitioners &nbsp;have &nbsp;asserted as well &nbsp;as demonstrated on &nbsp;facts and &nbsp;figures&nbsp; supported by &nbsp;relevant&nbsp; materials&nbsp; that &nbsp;despite constitutional &nbsp;guarantee&nbsp; of &nbsp;equality, &nbsp;Hijras/transgender &nbsp;persons have&nbsp; &nbsp;been &nbsp;facing &nbsp;extreme &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;in &nbsp;all &nbsp;spheres&nbsp; of &nbsp;the society.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Non-recognition &nbsp;of &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; identity &nbsp;of &nbsp;Hijras/transgender persons denies them&nbsp; equal protection of law, thereby leaving them extremely vulnerable to harassment, violence and&nbsp; sexual assault in public&nbsp; spaces, at &nbsp;home&nbsp; &nbsp;and &nbsp;in&nbsp; jail, &nbsp;also &nbsp;by &nbsp;the &nbsp;police.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Sexual assault, including molestation, rape, forced anal and &nbsp;oral sex, gang rape &nbsp;and &nbsp;stripping is being committed with impunity and&nbsp; there &nbsp;are reliable statistics and &nbsp;materials to support such activities. &nbsp;Further, non-recognition of identity of Hijras /transgender persons results in them&nbsp; &nbsp;facing &nbsp;extreme &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;in &nbsp;all &nbsp;spheres&nbsp; of &nbsp;society, especially&nbsp; in &nbsp;the &nbsp;field &nbsp;of &nbsp;employment, &nbsp;education,&nbsp; healthcare&nbsp; etc. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Hijras/transgender persons face huge &nbsp;discrimination in access to public spaces like restaurants, cinemas, shops, malls etc.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Further, access to public toilets is also a&nbsp; serious problem they &nbsp;face quite often.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Since, there &nbsp;are &nbsp;no&nbsp; separate toilet facilities for Hijras/transgender &nbsp;persons, they &nbsp;have &nbsp;to &nbsp;use male &nbsp;toilets &nbsp;where they &nbsp;are &nbsp;prone &nbsp;to sexual &nbsp;assault &nbsp;and &nbsp;harassment. &nbsp;Discrimination on &nbsp;the &nbsp;ground &nbsp;of sexual orientation or&nbsp; gender identity, therefore, impairs equality before law and&nbsp; equal protection of law and &nbsp;violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India. &nbsp; &nbsp; ARTICLES 15 &amp; 16 AND TRANSGENDERS &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 56.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Articles &nbsp;15 and &nbsp;16 prohibit &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;against &nbsp;any &nbsp;citizen on certain enumerated grounds, including the&nbsp; ground &nbsp;of &lsquo;sex&rsquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In fact, both&nbsp; the&nbsp; Articles prohibit all forms of gender bias and &nbsp;gender based discrimination. &nbsp; &nbsp; 57.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Article 15 states that &nbsp;the &nbsp;State shall not discriminate against any citizen, inter alia, on the ground &nbsp;of sex, with regard to <a href="http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1732536/">(a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;a</a>ccess to &nbsp;shops, public &nbsp;restaurants, &nbsp;hotels &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; places &nbsp;of public entertainment; or <a href="http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/820476/">(b)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;u</a>se of wells, tanks, &nbsp;bathing ghats, roads and &nbsp;places of public resort&nbsp; &nbsp;maintained &nbsp;wholly &nbsp;or &nbsp;partly &nbsp;out &nbsp;of &nbsp;State&nbsp; funds &nbsp;or dedicated to the use of the general public. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The &nbsp;requirement&nbsp; of &nbsp;taking &nbsp;affirmative action for &nbsp;the advancement of any &nbsp;socially &nbsp;and &nbsp;educationally &nbsp;backward classes of citizens is also provided in this Article. &nbsp; &nbsp; 58.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article &nbsp;16 &nbsp;states that &nbsp;there &nbsp;shall &nbsp;be &nbsp;equality &nbsp;of opportunities for all the citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any &nbsp;office under &nbsp;the &nbsp;State. Article 16&nbsp; (2) of the &nbsp;Constitution of India reads as follows : &ldquo;16<a href="http://indiankanoon.org/doc/1011960/">(2).</a>&nbsp; No &nbsp;citizen&nbsp; shall,&nbsp; on &nbsp;grounds only&nbsp; of &nbsp;religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any &nbsp;of them, &nbsp;be &nbsp;ineligible &nbsp;for, &nbsp;or discriminated &nbsp;against in &nbsp;respect &nbsp;or, &nbsp;any&nbsp;&nbsp; employment &nbsp;or &nbsp;office &nbsp;under&nbsp; &nbsp;the State.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; Article &nbsp;16 &nbsp;not &nbsp;only &nbsp;prohibits &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;on &nbsp;the &nbsp;ground &nbsp;of sex in public employment, but also imposes a duty on the&nbsp; State to ensure that&nbsp; all citizens are &nbsp;treated equally in matters relating to employment and appointment by the State. &nbsp; &nbsp; 59.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Articles 15 &nbsp;and &nbsp;16 &nbsp;sought to &nbsp;prohibit discrimination on &nbsp;the basis of sex, recognizing that&nbsp; sex discrimination is a historical fact and&nbsp; &nbsp;needs&nbsp; to &nbsp;be&nbsp; &nbsp;addressed.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Constitution &nbsp;makers, &nbsp;it &nbsp;can&nbsp; &nbsp;be gathered, gave &nbsp;emphasis to the fundamental right against sex discrimination so as to prevent the direct or indirect attitude to treat people &nbsp;differently, &nbsp;for &nbsp;the &nbsp;reason of not &nbsp;being &nbsp;in &nbsp;conformity &nbsp;with &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; stereotypical generalizations of binary genders.&nbsp; &nbsp;Both gender and biological &nbsp;attributes &nbsp;constitute&nbsp; distinct &nbsp;components of &nbsp;sex. Biological&nbsp;&nbsp; characteristics,&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;course, &nbsp;include&nbsp;&nbsp; genitals, chromosomes&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;secondary&nbsp; &nbsp;sexual&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; features,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; but&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;gender attributes include one&rsquo;s self image, the deep psychological or emotional &nbsp;sense of &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;identity &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;character.&nbsp; The discrimination &nbsp;on &nbsp;the &nbsp;ground&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;&lsquo;sex&rsquo; &nbsp;under&nbsp; &nbsp;Articles &nbsp;15 &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; 16, therefore, includes discrimination on the&nbsp; ground &nbsp;of gender identity. The expression &lsquo;sex&rsquo; used in Articles 15 and &nbsp;16 is not just limited to biological &nbsp;sex of male &nbsp;or &nbsp;female, &nbsp;but &nbsp;intended &nbsp;to &nbsp;include &nbsp;people who consider themselves to be neither male or female. &nbsp; &nbsp; 60.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;TGs have &nbsp;been systematically denied the&nbsp; rights under &nbsp;Article &nbsp; &nbsp; 15(2) that is not to be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction or condition &nbsp;in &nbsp;regard to access to public &nbsp;places.&nbsp; &nbsp;TGs have &nbsp;also not been afforded special provisions envisaged under &nbsp;Article 15(4) for &nbsp;the &nbsp;advancement of &nbsp;the &nbsp;socially&nbsp; and &nbsp;educationally&nbsp; backward classes &nbsp;(SEBC)&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;citizens, &nbsp;which &nbsp;they&nbsp;&nbsp; are,&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;hence &nbsp;legally entitled and&nbsp; eligible to get the benefits of SEBC.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;State is bound &nbsp;to take&nbsp;&nbsp; some affirmative &nbsp;action &nbsp;for &nbsp;their &nbsp;advancement &nbsp;so &nbsp;that &nbsp;the injustice &nbsp;done &nbsp;to them &nbsp;for centuries &nbsp;could &nbsp;be &nbsp;remedied.&nbsp; &nbsp;TGs are also &nbsp;entitled &nbsp;to enjoy &nbsp;economic, &nbsp;social, &nbsp;cultural &nbsp;and &nbsp;political &nbsp;rights &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; without &nbsp;discrimination, &nbsp;because &nbsp;forms &nbsp;of &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;on&nbsp;&nbsp; the ground &nbsp;of gender are&nbsp; violative of fundamental freedoms and human rights.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;TGs have &nbsp;also been denied rights under &nbsp;Article 16(2)&nbsp; and discriminated against in respect of employment or office under &nbsp;the State on the&nbsp; ground &nbsp;of sex. &nbsp;TGs are &nbsp;also entitled to reservation in the&nbsp; matter &nbsp;of appointment, as envisaged under &nbsp;Article 16(4) &nbsp;of the Constitution.&nbsp; &nbsp;State is bound &nbsp;to take&nbsp; affirmative action to give them due representation in public services. &nbsp; &nbsp; 61.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Articles 15(2) &nbsp;to (4) and &nbsp;Article 16(4) &nbsp;read &nbsp;with the &nbsp;Directive Principles of State Policy and &nbsp;various international instruments to which Indian is a party,&nbsp; call for social equality, which the TGs could realize, only if facilities and &nbsp;opportunities are&nbsp; extended to them &nbsp;so that &nbsp;they &nbsp;can&nbsp;&nbsp; also &nbsp;live &nbsp;with &nbsp;dignity &nbsp;and &nbsp;equal &nbsp;status with &nbsp;other genders. &nbsp; &nbsp; ARTICLE 19(1)(a) AND TRANSGENDERS &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 62.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Article&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;19(1)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Constitution&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;guarantees&nbsp; &nbsp;certain fundamental rights, subject&nbsp; to &nbsp;the &nbsp;power &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;State to &nbsp;impose restrictions from exercise of those rights.&nbsp;&nbsp; The &nbsp;rights conferred by Article 19 &nbsp;are &nbsp;not&nbsp; available to any &nbsp;person who &nbsp;is not&nbsp; a &nbsp;citizen of India.&nbsp; &nbsp;Article &nbsp;19(1) &nbsp;guarantees those great &nbsp;basic &nbsp;rights &nbsp;which &nbsp;are &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; recognized&nbsp; and &nbsp;guaranteed as the &nbsp;natural&nbsp; rights&nbsp; inherent&nbsp; in &nbsp;the status of &nbsp;the &nbsp;citizen&nbsp; of &nbsp;a &nbsp;free&nbsp; country.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article&nbsp; 19(1) &nbsp;(a) &nbsp;of &nbsp;the Constitution &nbsp;states that &nbsp;all &nbsp;citizens &nbsp;shall &nbsp;have &nbsp;the &nbsp;right &nbsp;to freedom of speech and &nbsp;expression, which includes one&rsquo;s right to expression of&nbsp; &nbsp;his&nbsp; &nbsp;self-identified&nbsp; &nbsp;gender.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Self-identified&nbsp; &nbsp;gender &nbsp;can&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; be expressed through &nbsp;dress, words, &nbsp;action or&nbsp; behavior or&nbsp; any &nbsp;other form.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;No restriction can &nbsp;be placed on one&rsquo;s personal appearance or choice of dressing, subject to the restrictions contained in Article 19(2) of the Constitution. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 63.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;We may,&nbsp; in this connection, refer to few judgments of the US Supreme Courts on the rights of TG&rsquo;s freedom of expression. &nbsp;The Supreme Court &nbsp;of the &nbsp;State of Illinois in the &nbsp;City &nbsp;of&nbsp; Chicago v. Wilson et &nbsp;al.,&nbsp; 75&nbsp; III.2d 525(1978) struck &nbsp;down &nbsp;the &nbsp;municipal law prohibiting cross-dressing, and held as follows &ldquo;- &ldquo;the notion that&nbsp; the&nbsp; State can &nbsp;regulate one&rsquo;s personal appearance, unconfined by any constitutional strictures whatsoever, is fundamentally inconsistent with &ldquo;values of&nbsp; &nbsp;privacy,&nbsp; &nbsp;self-identity,&nbsp; &nbsp;autonomy &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;personal integrity that &hellip;..&nbsp; &nbsp;the Constitution was designed to protect.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 64.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In Doe &nbsp;v. &nbsp;Yunits et &nbsp;al., &nbsp;2000 &nbsp;WL33162199 (Mass. &nbsp;Super.), the &nbsp;Superior Court &nbsp;of Massachusetts, upheld the &nbsp;right of a person &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; to wear &nbsp;school dress that&nbsp; matches her &nbsp;gender identity as part&nbsp; of protected speech and expression and observed as follows :- &ldquo;by&nbsp; dressing in &nbsp;clothing &nbsp;and &nbsp;accessories&nbsp; traditionally associated with &nbsp;the &nbsp;female &nbsp;gender, she &nbsp;is &nbsp;expressing her identification with the gender.&nbsp; In addition, plaintiff&rsquo;s ability &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; express &nbsp;herself &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;her&nbsp; &nbsp;gender &nbsp;identity through&nbsp; &nbsp;dress&nbsp; is &nbsp;important &nbsp;for &nbsp;her &nbsp;health &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;well- being. &nbsp;Therefore, plaintiff&rsquo;s expression is not merely a personal&nbsp; preference&nbsp; but &nbsp;a &nbsp;necessary symbol &nbsp;of &nbsp;her identity.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 65.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Principles referred to above clearly indicate that the freedom of &nbsp;expression&nbsp; guaranteed &nbsp;under&nbsp; &nbsp;Article &nbsp;19(1)(a)&nbsp; &nbsp;includes &nbsp;the freedom to express one&rsquo;s chosen gender identity through &nbsp;varied ways &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;means &nbsp;by &nbsp;way&nbsp;&nbsp; of &nbsp;expression,&nbsp; speech, &nbsp;mannerism, clothing etc. &nbsp; &nbsp; 66.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Gender identity, therefore, lies at&nbsp; the &nbsp;core &nbsp;of one&rsquo;s personal identity, gender expression and &nbsp;presentation and, &nbsp;therefore, it will have &nbsp;to be&nbsp; protected under &nbsp;Article 19(1)(a) &nbsp;of the&nbsp; Constitution of India.&nbsp; &nbsp;A transgender&rsquo;s personality could be expressed by the transgender&rsquo;s&nbsp; behavior &nbsp;and &nbsp;presentation.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;State cannot prohibit, restrict or interfere with a transgender&rsquo;s expression of such personality, &nbsp;which &nbsp;reflects&nbsp; that &nbsp;inherent&nbsp; personality.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Often&nbsp; the State and &nbsp;its authorities either due &nbsp;to ignorance or otherwise fail to digest &nbsp;the &nbsp;innate &nbsp;character &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;identity &nbsp;of &nbsp;such&nbsp; &nbsp;persons.&nbsp; &nbsp;We, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; therefore, hold that&nbsp; values of privacy, self-identity, autonomy and personal integrity are&nbsp; fundamental rights guaranteed to members of the &nbsp;transgender community&nbsp; under&nbsp; &nbsp;Article&nbsp; 19(1)(a)&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;the Constitution &nbsp;of &nbsp;India &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;State &nbsp;is &nbsp;bound&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; protect&nbsp; &nbsp;and recognize those rights. &nbsp; &nbsp; ARTICLE 21 AND THE TRANSGENDERS &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 67.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article 21 of the Constitution of India reads as follows: &nbsp; &nbsp; &ldquo;21.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Protection of life and &nbsp;personal liberty&nbsp; &ndash; No person shall be&nbsp; deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; Article 21&nbsp; is the &nbsp;heart &nbsp;and &nbsp;soul of the &nbsp;Indian Constitution, which speaks of the rights to life and &nbsp;personal liberty.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Right to life is one &nbsp;of the &nbsp;basic &nbsp;fundamental rights and &nbsp;not even &nbsp;the&nbsp; State has the authority to violate or take &nbsp;away &nbsp;that&nbsp; right. &nbsp;Article 21 takes all those aspects of life which go to make &nbsp;a person&rsquo;s life meaningful. Article &nbsp;21&nbsp;&nbsp; protects &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;dignity &nbsp;of &nbsp;human &nbsp;life, &nbsp;one&rsquo;s &nbsp;personal autonomy, one&rsquo;s right to privacy, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Right to dignity has been recognized to be an essential part of the right to life and accrues to all persons on &nbsp;account of being humans.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In&nbsp; Francis Coralie Mullin v. Administrator, Union &nbsp;Territory of Delhi &nbsp;(1981) &nbsp;1 SCC 608 &nbsp;(paras 7 and &nbsp;8), this Court &nbsp;held that &nbsp;the &nbsp;right to dignity forms &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; an&nbsp; &nbsp;essential &nbsp;part&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;our &nbsp;constitutional &nbsp;culture &nbsp;which &nbsp;seeks&nbsp; to ensure the full development and &nbsp;evolution of persons and &nbsp;includes &ldquo;expressing&nbsp; oneself &nbsp;in&nbsp; diverse &nbsp;forms, &nbsp;freely&nbsp; moving&nbsp; about&nbsp; &nbsp;and mixing and comingling with fellow human beings&rdquo;. &nbsp; &nbsp; 68.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Recognition of one&rsquo;s gender identity lies at&nbsp; the &nbsp;heart &nbsp;of the fundamental &nbsp;right &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; dignity.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Gender, as &nbsp;already &nbsp;indicated, constitutes the&nbsp; core &nbsp;of one&rsquo;s sense of being as well as an&nbsp; integral part&nbsp; of a person&rsquo;s identity. &nbsp;Legal recognition of gender identity is, therefore, &nbsp;part &nbsp;of right &nbsp;to &nbsp;dignity &nbsp;and &nbsp;freedom &nbsp;guaranteed under our Constitution. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 69.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article 21, as already indicated, guarantees the protection of &ldquo;personal autonomy&rdquo; &nbsp;of&nbsp; an &nbsp;individual.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;Anuj &nbsp;Garg &nbsp;v. &nbsp;Hotel Association of &nbsp;India (2008) &nbsp;3&nbsp; SCC &nbsp;1 &nbsp;(paragraphs 34-35), &nbsp;this Court held that personal autonomy includes both the negative right of not to be subject to interference by others and &nbsp;the positive right of &nbsp;individuals &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; make&nbsp; &nbsp;decisions &nbsp;about&nbsp; &nbsp;their &nbsp;life, &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; express themselves and &nbsp;to choose which activities to take &nbsp;part&nbsp; in.&nbsp; &nbsp;Self- determination &nbsp;of gender is &nbsp;an &nbsp;integral &nbsp;part &nbsp;of personal &nbsp;autonomy and &nbsp;self-expression and &nbsp;falls within the&nbsp; realm of personal liberty guaranteed under &nbsp;Article 21 of the Constitution of India. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; LEGAL&nbsp;RECOGNITION OF THIRD/TRANSGENDER IDENTITY &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 70.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Self-identified gender can &nbsp;be either male or female or a third gender.&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijras &nbsp;are &nbsp;identified &nbsp;as persons of third &nbsp;gender and &nbsp;are not identified either as male or female. &nbsp;Gender identity, as already indicated, refers to a person&rsquo;s internal sense of being male, female or &nbsp;a &nbsp;transgender, for &nbsp;example &nbsp;Hijras &nbsp;do &nbsp;not &nbsp;identify&nbsp; as female because of their lack of female genitalia or&nbsp; lack of reproductive capability.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;This distinction makes them &nbsp;separate from both&nbsp; male and &nbsp;female &nbsp;genders and &nbsp;they &nbsp;consider themselves &nbsp;neither &nbsp;man nor &nbsp;woman, but &nbsp;a &nbsp;&ldquo;third gender&rdquo;.&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijras, therefore, belong to&nbsp; a distinct &nbsp;socio-religious &nbsp;and &nbsp;cultural &nbsp;group &nbsp;and &nbsp;have, therefore, &nbsp;to be &nbsp;considered as a &nbsp;&ldquo;third &nbsp;gender&rdquo;, &nbsp;apart &nbsp;from &nbsp;male &nbsp;and &nbsp;female. State of Punjab &nbsp;has treated all &nbsp;TGs as male &nbsp;which &nbsp;is &nbsp;not &nbsp;legally sustainable.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;State &nbsp;of &nbsp;Tamil &nbsp;Nadu&nbsp; &nbsp;has&nbsp; taken&nbsp; &nbsp;lot &nbsp;of &nbsp;welfare measures to safeguard the rights of TGs, which we have &nbsp;to acknowledge. &nbsp;Few States like Kerala, Tripura, Bihar have &nbsp;referred TGs as &ldquo;third &nbsp;gender or sex&rdquo;.&nbsp; &nbsp;Certain &nbsp;States recognize &nbsp;them &nbsp;as &ldquo;third category&rdquo;. &nbsp;Few benefits have &nbsp;also been extended by certain other &nbsp;States. Our&nbsp; neighbouring countries have &nbsp;also upheld their fundamental rights and right to live with dignity. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 71.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;Supreme Court&nbsp; of Nepal in Sunil &nbsp;Babu &nbsp;Pant &nbsp;&amp; Ors. v. Nepal &nbsp;Government (Writ Petition No.917 &nbsp;of 2007&nbsp; decided on 21st December, &nbsp;2007),&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; spoke &nbsp;on&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;rights&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;Transgenders &nbsp;as follows:- &ldquo;the fundamental rights comprised under &nbsp;Part&nbsp; II of the Constitution are&nbsp; enforceable fundamental human rights guaranteed to the&nbsp; citizens against the&nbsp; State. &nbsp;For this reason, the fundamental rights stipulated in Part&nbsp; III are the rights similarly vested in the third gender people as human &nbsp;beings. &nbsp;The&nbsp;&nbsp; homosexuals &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;third &nbsp;gender people &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;also &nbsp;human &nbsp;beings &nbsp;as&nbsp; other&nbsp; &nbsp;men&nbsp; &nbsp;and women &nbsp;are, &nbsp;and &nbsp;they are &nbsp;the citizens of this country&nbsp; as well&hellip;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Thus,&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;people&nbsp; &nbsp;other&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;than&nbsp; &nbsp;&lsquo;men&rsquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;and &lsquo;women&rsquo;, &nbsp;including &nbsp;the &nbsp;people &nbsp;of &lsquo;third &nbsp;gender&rsquo; &nbsp;cannot be&nbsp; &nbsp;discriminated.&nbsp; &nbsp;The&nbsp; &nbsp;State &nbsp;should&nbsp; &nbsp;recognize&nbsp; &nbsp;the existence of all natural persons including the people of third gender other &nbsp;than &nbsp;the&nbsp; men &nbsp;and &nbsp;women.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;And it cannot&nbsp; &nbsp;deprive&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; people&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;third&nbsp; &nbsp;gender &nbsp;from enjoying the&nbsp; fundamental rights provided by Part &nbsp;III of the Constitution.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; 72.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The &nbsp;Supreme Court &nbsp;of Pakistan in Dr. Mohammad Aslam Khaki &nbsp;&amp; Anr. &nbsp;V. Senior Superintendent of&nbsp; Police (Operation) Rawalpindi &amp; Ors. &nbsp;(Constitution &nbsp;Petition &nbsp;No.43 &nbsp;of 2009) &nbsp;decided on &nbsp;22nd&nbsp; &nbsp;March,&nbsp; &nbsp;2011,&nbsp; &nbsp;had&nbsp; &nbsp;occasion &nbsp;to &nbsp;consider &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; rights &nbsp;of eunuchs and held as follows:- &ldquo;Needless to observe that&nbsp; eunuchs in their rights are citizens &nbsp;of this &nbsp;country &nbsp;and &nbsp;subject &nbsp;to the &nbsp;Constitution of the&nbsp; Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, &nbsp;their rights, obligations including right to life and &nbsp;dignity are&nbsp; equally protected.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Thus no discrimination, for any&nbsp; reason, is possible&nbsp; &nbsp;against&nbsp; &nbsp;them &nbsp;&nbsp;as &nbsp;far&nbsp;&nbsp; as &nbsp;their&nbsp; &nbsp;rights&nbsp; &nbsp;and &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; obligations&nbsp; are &nbsp;concerned.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;Government functionaries both &nbsp;at&nbsp; federal and &nbsp;provincial levels are bound &nbsp;to provide &nbsp;them &nbsp;protection &nbsp;of life &nbsp;and &nbsp;property and &nbsp;secure their dignity as well, as is done &nbsp;in case of other &nbsp;citizens.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 73.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We &nbsp;may &nbsp;remind ourselves of the &nbsp;historical presence of the third gender in this country as well as in the neighbouring countries. &nbsp; &nbsp; 74.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Article 21, &nbsp;as already indicated, protects one&rsquo;s right of self- determination of the &nbsp;gender to&nbsp; which a &nbsp;person belongs. Determination &nbsp;of &nbsp;gender &nbsp;to &nbsp;which &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; person &nbsp;belongs &nbsp;is &nbsp;to &nbsp;be decided by the &nbsp;person concerned. &nbsp;In other &nbsp;words, &nbsp;gender identity is &nbsp;integral &nbsp;to &nbsp;the &nbsp;dignity &nbsp;of &nbsp;an &nbsp;individual &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;is &nbsp;at &nbsp;the &nbsp;core&nbsp;&nbsp; of &ldquo;personal autonomy&rdquo; and &ldquo;self-determination&rdquo;. Hijras/Eunuchs, therefore, have &nbsp;to be considered as Third Gender, over and &nbsp;above binary genders under &nbsp;our Constitution and the laws. &nbsp; &nbsp; 75.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Articles &nbsp;14, &nbsp;15, &nbsp;16, &nbsp;19 &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;21, &nbsp;above &nbsp;discussion, &nbsp;would indicate,&nbsp; do &nbsp;not &nbsp;exclude Hijras/Transgenders&nbsp; from &nbsp;its&nbsp; ambit, &nbsp;but Indian law on the &nbsp;whole recognize the &nbsp;paradigm of binary genders of male and &nbsp;female, based on&nbsp; one&rsquo;s biological sex.&nbsp; &nbsp;As already indicated, &nbsp;we &nbsp;cannot accept&nbsp; the &nbsp;Corbett&nbsp; &nbsp;principle &nbsp;of &nbsp;&ldquo;Biological Test&rdquo;, &nbsp;rather&nbsp; &nbsp;we &nbsp;prefer &nbsp;to &nbsp;follow &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; psyche &nbsp;of &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; person &nbsp;in determining &nbsp;sex and &nbsp;gender and &nbsp;prefer &nbsp;the &nbsp;&ldquo;Psychological &nbsp;Test&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; instead of &ldquo;Biological Test&rdquo;. &nbsp;Binary notion of gender reflects in the Indian Penal Code, for example, Section 8, 10, etc.&nbsp; and &nbsp;also in the laws related to marriage, adoption, divorce, inheritance, succession and other welfare legislations like NAREGA, 2005, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Non- recognition of the identity of Hijras/Transgenders in the various legislations &nbsp;denies &nbsp;them&nbsp;&nbsp; equal &nbsp;protection &nbsp;of &nbsp;law &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;they &nbsp;face wide-spread discrimination. &nbsp; &nbsp; 76.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Article 14 has used the expression &ldquo;person&rdquo; and the Article 15 has used the &nbsp;expression&nbsp; &ldquo;citizen&rdquo; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &ldquo;sex&rdquo; &nbsp;so &nbsp;also &nbsp;Article &nbsp;16. Article 19&nbsp; has also used the &nbsp;expression &ldquo;citizen&rdquo;.&nbsp; &nbsp;Article 21&nbsp; has used the &nbsp;expression &ldquo;person&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;All&nbsp; these expressions, which are &ldquo;gender neutral&rdquo; evidently refer to human-beings. &nbsp;Hence, they take within their sweep Hijras/Transgenders and &nbsp;are &nbsp;not as such limited to&nbsp; male or &nbsp;female gender.&nbsp; &nbsp;Gender identity as already indicated forms &nbsp;the &nbsp;core &nbsp;of one&rsquo;s &nbsp;personal &nbsp;self, &nbsp;based on &nbsp;self &nbsp;identification, not on surgical or medical procedure. &nbsp;Gender identity, in our view, is an integral part of sex and &nbsp;no citizen can &nbsp;be discriminated on the ground&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;gender identity, &nbsp;including&nbsp; those who &nbsp;identify&nbsp; as third gender. 77.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We, &nbsp;therefore, conclude that &nbsp;discrimination on &nbsp;the &nbsp;basis of sexual &nbsp;orientation &nbsp;or &nbsp;gender identity &nbsp;includes &nbsp;any &nbsp;discrimination, &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; exclusion, &nbsp;restriction&nbsp; &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;preference,&nbsp; &nbsp;which&nbsp; &nbsp;has &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;effect&nbsp; &nbsp;of nullifying or transposing equality by the &nbsp;law or the &nbsp;equal protection of &nbsp;laws &nbsp;guaranteed&nbsp; under&nbsp; &nbsp;our &nbsp;Constitution, &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;hence &nbsp;we &nbsp;are inclined to&nbsp; give various directions to &nbsp;safeguard the &nbsp;constitutional rights of the members of the TG community. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ..&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;..J (K.S. Radhakrishnan) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; A.K.&nbsp;SIKRI,J. &nbsp; 78.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;I &nbsp;have &nbsp;carefully, and &nbsp;with lot of interest, gone&nbsp;&nbsp; through&nbsp;&nbsp; the perspicuous opinion of my brother &nbsp;Radhakrishnan,J.&nbsp; &nbsp;I am entirely in &nbsp;agreement with &nbsp;the &nbsp;discussion &nbsp;contained &nbsp;in &nbsp;the &nbsp;said &nbsp;judgment on &nbsp;all&nbsp; the &nbsp;cardinal&nbsp; issues&nbsp; that &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;arisen&nbsp; for &nbsp;consideration&nbsp; in these proceedings. At the same time, having regard to the fact that the issues involved are&nbsp; of seminal importance, I am also inclined to pen down my thoughts. &nbsp; &nbsp; 79.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;As is clear, &nbsp;these petitions essentially raise an issue of &nbsp; &nbsp; &ldquo;Gender Identity&rdquo;, which is the core issue. It has two facets, viz.: &nbsp; &nbsp; &ldquo;(a)&nbsp; &nbsp;Whether a person who is born as a male&nbsp; &nbsp;with predominantly female orientation (or vice-versa), &nbsp;has a right to get himself to be recognized as a female as per his choice moreso, &nbsp;when&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;such&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp; &nbsp;person &nbsp;after&nbsp; &nbsp;having&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;undergone &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; operational procedure, changes his/her sex as well; &nbsp; (b) &nbsp;Whether transgender &nbsp;(TG), &nbsp;who &nbsp;are &nbsp;neither&nbsp; males nor females, have &nbsp;a&nbsp; right to be &nbsp;identified and &nbsp;categorized as a &ldquo;third gender&rdquo;? &nbsp; &nbsp; 80.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;We would hasten to add that it is the second issue with which we are&nbsp; primarily concerned in these petitions though &nbsp;in the process of discussion, first issue which is somewhat inter-related, has also popped up. &nbsp; &nbsp; 81.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Indubitably, the&nbsp; issue of choice of gender identify has all the trappings of a human rights. That &nbsp;apart, as it becomes clear &nbsp;from the &nbsp;reading&nbsp; of &nbsp;the &nbsp;judgment&nbsp; of &nbsp;my &nbsp;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 &nbsp;come into play, inasmuch not &nbsp;giving them &nbsp;the &nbsp;status of a&nbsp; third gender results in depriving the community of TGs of many&nbsp; of their valuable rights and &nbsp;privileges which other &nbsp;persons enjoy as citizens of this Country.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;There&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp; &nbsp;also&nbsp; &nbsp;deprivation&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;social&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; cultural participation which results into eclipsing their access to education and &nbsp;health services. Radhakrishnan,J. has exhaustively described the term &lsquo;Transgender&rsquo; as an umbrella term which embraces within itself &nbsp;a wide &nbsp;range of identities &nbsp;and &nbsp;experiences &nbsp;including &nbsp;but not &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; limited to pre-operative/post-operative trans sexual people who strongly identify with the gender opposite to their biological sex i.e. male/ female. &nbsp;Therein, the&nbsp; history of transgenders in India is also traced and &nbsp;while doing so, &nbsp;there &nbsp;is mention of upon &nbsp;the&nbsp; draconian legislation &nbsp;enacted &nbsp;during &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; British &nbsp;Rule, &nbsp;known&nbsp; &nbsp;as Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 &nbsp;which treated, per &nbsp;se, the&nbsp; entire community of Hizra persons as innately &lsquo;criminals&rsquo;, &lsquo;addicted to&nbsp; the &nbsp;systematic commission of non-bailable offences&rsquo;. &nbsp; &nbsp; 82.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;With these introductory remarks, I revert &nbsp;to the&nbsp; 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, &nbsp;J., &nbsp;as I &nbsp;agree with &nbsp;every&nbsp;&nbsp; word &nbsp;written &nbsp;therein. However, at &nbsp;times, &nbsp;if &nbsp;some of &nbsp;the &nbsp;observations &nbsp;are &nbsp;re-narrated, that &nbsp;would be &nbsp;only with a&nbsp; view to bring continuity in the &nbsp;thought process. (1)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Re: &nbsp;Right of&nbsp; a &nbsp;person to &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp;gender of&nbsp; his/her choice. When&nbsp; &nbsp;a &nbsp;child &nbsp;is &nbsp;born,&nbsp; &nbsp;at &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; time &nbsp;of &nbsp;birth &nbsp;itself, &nbsp;sex &nbsp;is assigned &nbsp;to &nbsp;him/her. &nbsp;A &nbsp;child &nbsp;would &nbsp;be&nbsp;&nbsp; treated &nbsp;with &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; sex thereafter, i.e. either a male or a female. However, as explained in &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; detail in the accompanying judgment, some persons, though relatively very small in number, may born with bodies which incorporate &nbsp;both&nbsp; &nbsp;or&nbsp; &nbsp;certain &nbsp;aspects &nbsp;of &nbsp;both&nbsp; &nbsp;male &nbsp;or&nbsp;&nbsp; female physiology. It may&nbsp; also happen that&nbsp; though &nbsp;a person is born&nbsp; as a male, because of some genital anatomy problems his innate perception may &nbsp;be &nbsp;that &nbsp;of a&nbsp; female and &nbsp;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. &nbsp; &nbsp; 83.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;earlier&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;times&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;though&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;one&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;could&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;observe&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;such characteristics, at the same time the underlying rationale or reason behind such &nbsp;a behavior was not known. Over a period of time, with in depth &nbsp;study&nbsp; and &nbsp;research of such &nbsp;physical and &nbsp;psychological factors bevaviour, the causes of this behaviour have &nbsp;become discernable&nbsp; which &nbsp;in&nbsp; turn, &nbsp;has led &nbsp;to &nbsp;some changes in &nbsp;societal norms. &nbsp;Society &nbsp;has starting accepting, though &nbsp;slowly, these have accepted the &nbsp;behavioral norms of such &nbsp;persons without &nbsp;treating it as abnormal. Further, &nbsp;medical science has leaped forward to such an &nbsp;extent&nbsp;&nbsp; that &nbsp;even &nbsp;physiology appearance of a &nbsp;person can &nbsp;be changed through&nbsp; &nbsp;surgical&nbsp; procedures, from &nbsp;male &nbsp;to &nbsp;female &nbsp;and vice-versa. In this way, such&nbsp; &nbsp;persons are &nbsp;able to acquire the body which &nbsp;is &nbsp;in &nbsp;conformity &nbsp;with &nbsp;the &nbsp;perception &nbsp;of their &nbsp;gender/gender &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; characteristics.&nbsp; &nbsp;In order &nbsp;to ensure that &nbsp;law &nbsp;also &nbsp;keeps pace with the&nbsp; aforesaid progress in medical science, various countries have come&nbsp; &nbsp;out &nbsp;with &nbsp;Legislation&nbsp; conferring&nbsp; rights&nbsp; on &nbsp;such&nbsp; &nbsp;persons to recognize their gender identity based on reassigned sex after undergoing&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sex&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Re-Assignment&nbsp; &nbsp;Surgery&nbsp; &nbsp;(SRS).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Law&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;and judgments given by the courts in other countries have &nbsp;been exhaustively and &nbsp;grandiloquently traversed by my learned Brother in his judgment, discussing amongst others, the Yogyakarta principles, the&nbsp; relevant provisions of the&nbsp; Universal Declaration of Human&nbsp; &nbsp;Rights &nbsp;1948&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;highlighting &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; statutory &nbsp;framework operating in those countries. &nbsp; &nbsp; 84.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The genesis of this recognition lies in the acknowledgment of another fundamental and&nbsp; universal principal viz. &ldquo;right of choice&rdquo; given&nbsp; to &nbsp;an &nbsp;individual&nbsp; which &nbsp;is&nbsp; the &nbsp;inseparable&nbsp; part &nbsp;of &nbsp;human rights.&nbsp; &nbsp;It is a matter &nbsp;of historical significance that &nbsp;the &nbsp;20th&nbsp; &nbsp;Century is often described as &ldquo;the age &nbsp;of rights&rdquo;. &nbsp; &nbsp; 85.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The &nbsp;most &nbsp;important lesson which was learnt as a &nbsp;result of Second World&nbsp; War &nbsp;was the &nbsp;realization &nbsp;by &nbsp;the &nbsp;Governments of various &nbsp;countries &nbsp;about&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp;human dignity&nbsp; which &nbsp;needed to &nbsp;be cherished&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;protected.&nbsp; &nbsp;It&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp; &nbsp;for&nbsp; &nbsp;this&nbsp; &nbsp;reason &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; U.N.Charter, 1945, &nbsp;adopted immediately after the&nbsp; Second World War, dignity of the individuals was mentioned as of core&nbsp; value. The almost contemporaneous Universal Declaration of Human &nbsp;Rights (1948) &nbsp;echoed same sentiments. &nbsp; &nbsp; 86.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The &nbsp;underlined message in the &nbsp;aforesaid documents is the acknowledgment &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; human &nbsp;rights &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;individual &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;have&nbsp; &nbsp;a definite &nbsp;linkage &nbsp;of &nbsp;human &nbsp;development, &nbsp;both&nbsp;&nbsp; sharing &nbsp;common vision &nbsp;and &nbsp;with &nbsp;a &nbsp;common purpose. Respect for human rights &nbsp;is the&nbsp; root for human development and &nbsp;realization of full potential of each individual, which in turn leads to the&nbsp; augmentation of human resources with progress of the nation. Empowerment of the people through &nbsp;human development is the aim of human rights. &nbsp; &nbsp; 87.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There &nbsp;is thus a &nbsp;universal recognition that &nbsp;human rights are rights that &nbsp;&ldquo;belong&rdquo; to&nbsp; every &nbsp;person, and &nbsp;do &nbsp;not &nbsp;depend on &nbsp;the specifics&nbsp; of &nbsp;the &nbsp;individual &nbsp;or &nbsp;the &nbsp;relationship &nbsp;between the &nbsp;right- holder and &nbsp;the&nbsp; right-grantor. Moreover, &nbsp;human rights exist irrespective&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;question&nbsp; &nbsp;whether&nbsp; &nbsp;they&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; are&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;granted&nbsp; &nbsp;or recognized by&nbsp; the &nbsp;legal and &nbsp;social system within which we &nbsp;live. They are &nbsp;devices to evaluate these existing arrangements: ideally, these &nbsp;arrangements should &nbsp;not &nbsp;violate &nbsp;human &nbsp;rights. &nbsp;In &nbsp;other &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; words,&nbsp; &nbsp;human &nbsp;rights &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;moral, &nbsp;pre-legal &nbsp;rights. &nbsp;They&nbsp;&nbsp; are&nbsp; &nbsp;not granted by people nor can &nbsp;they be taken &nbsp;away &nbsp;by them. &nbsp; &nbsp; 88.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In international human rights law, equality is found upon &nbsp;two complementary principles: non-discrimination and reasonable differentiation. The&nbsp; principle of non-discrimination seeks to ensure that&nbsp; all persons can &nbsp;equally enjoy and &nbsp;exercise all their rights and freedoms. Discrimination occurs due to arbitrary denial of opportunities for equal participation. For example, when public facilities and &nbsp;services are &nbsp;set on standards out of the&nbsp; reach of the TGs, &nbsp;it leads to&nbsp; exclusion and &nbsp;denial of rights. Equality not &nbsp;only implies preventing discrimination (example, the protection of individuals against unfavourable treatment by introducing anti- discrimination laws), but goes beyond in remedying discrimination against &nbsp;groups suffering &nbsp;systematic &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;in &nbsp;society.&nbsp; In concrete terms, &nbsp;it means embracing the &nbsp;notion of positive rights, affirmative action and reasonable accommodation. &nbsp; &nbsp; 89.&nbsp; &nbsp;Nevertheless, the Universal Declaration of Human &nbsp;Rights recognizes that all human beings are &nbsp;born free and &nbsp;equal in dignity and &nbsp;rights and, &nbsp;since &nbsp;the&nbsp; Covenant&rsquo;s provisions apply fully to all members of society, &nbsp;persons with disabilities are &nbsp;clearly entitled to &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; the&nbsp; full range of rights recognized in the&nbsp; Covenant. Moreover, &nbsp;the requirement contained in Article 2 of the&nbsp; Covenant that &nbsp;the&nbsp; rights enunciated&nbsp; will &nbsp;be &nbsp;exercised&nbsp; without &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;of &nbsp;any &nbsp;kind based on certain &nbsp;specified grounds or other &nbsp;status clearly applies to cover persons with disabilities. &nbsp; &nbsp; 90.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;India &nbsp;attained &nbsp;independence &nbsp;within &nbsp;two years of adoption &nbsp;of the aforesaid U.N.Charter and&nbsp; it was but natural that such &nbsp;a Bill of Rights would assume prime importance insofar as thinking of the members of the&nbsp; Constituent Assembly goes. It in fact did and &nbsp;we found chapter on fundamental rights in Part-III of the &nbsp;Constitution. It &nbsp;is not &nbsp;necessary for&nbsp; me, &nbsp;keeping in view &nbsp;the &nbsp;topic of today&rsquo;s discussion, to embark on detailed discussion on Chapter-III. Some of the &nbsp;provisions &nbsp;relevant &nbsp;for our &nbsp;purposes would &nbsp;be &nbsp;Article &nbsp;14, 15,16&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;21&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Constitution &nbsp;which&nbsp;&nbsp; have&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;already &nbsp;been adverted &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; in &nbsp;detail &nbsp;in &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;accompanying &nbsp;judgment. &nbsp;At &nbsp;this juncture it also needs to be&nbsp; emphasized simultaneously is that&nbsp; in addition&nbsp;&nbsp; to&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;fundamental&nbsp; &nbsp;rights,&nbsp;&nbsp; Constitution&nbsp;&nbsp; makers &nbsp;also deemed it proper &nbsp;to impose certain obligations on the&nbsp; State in the form of &ldquo;Directive Principles of State Policy&rdquo; (Part-IV) as a mark of good&nbsp; &nbsp;governance. &nbsp;It &nbsp;is &nbsp;this &nbsp;part&nbsp;&nbsp; which &nbsp;provides &nbsp;an&nbsp;&nbsp; ideal &nbsp;and purpose to our Constitution and &nbsp;delineates certain principles which &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; are &nbsp;fundamental &nbsp;in &nbsp;the &nbsp;governance of the &nbsp;country. &nbsp;Dr.Ambedkar had&nbsp; &nbsp;explained &nbsp;the &nbsp;purpose&nbsp; of &nbsp;these Directive &nbsp;Principles &nbsp;in &nbsp;the following manner (See Constituent Assembly debates): &ldquo;The Directive Principles are like the Instruments &nbsp;of &nbsp;Instructions&nbsp; which &nbsp;were issued to the Governor-General and the Governors of Colonies, and&nbsp; to those of India by &nbsp;the &nbsp;British &nbsp;Government &nbsp;under&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp;1935 Government of India Act. What is called &ldquo;Directive Principles&rdquo; is merely another name for &nbsp;the &nbsp;Instrument of&nbsp; Instructions. The &nbsp;only difference is that &nbsp;they&nbsp; are &nbsp;instructions to the legislature&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; executive.&nbsp; &nbsp;Whoever capture power &nbsp;will not be&nbsp; free to do what &nbsp;he likes with it. In the &nbsp;exercise of it he &nbsp;will have to&nbsp; respect these instruments of instructions which are&nbsp; called Directive Principles&rdquo;. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 91.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;basic &nbsp;spirit of our &nbsp;Constitution is to&nbsp; provide each and every &nbsp;person of the&nbsp; nation equal opportunity to grow as a human being, irrespective of race, caste, religion, community and &nbsp;social status. Granville Austin while analyzing the&nbsp; functioning of Indian Constitution &nbsp;in &nbsp;first &nbsp;50 &nbsp;years&nbsp; ha &nbsp;described &nbsp;three&nbsp; &nbsp;distinguished strands of Indian Constitution: (i)protecting national unity and integrity, &nbsp;(ii)establishing &nbsp;the &nbsp;institution &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; spirit &nbsp;of &nbsp;democracy; and&nbsp; &nbsp;(iii)&nbsp; &nbsp;fostering &nbsp;social &nbsp;reforms.&nbsp;&nbsp; The&nbsp; &nbsp;Strands &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;mutually dependent, &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;inextricably &nbsp;intertwined &nbsp;in &nbsp;what&nbsp; &nbsp;he&nbsp;&nbsp; elegantly describes&nbsp; &nbsp;as &nbsp;&ldquo;a&nbsp; &nbsp;seamless&nbsp; &nbsp;web&rdquo;.&nbsp; &nbsp;And &nbsp;there&nbsp; &nbsp;cannot &nbsp;be&nbsp; &nbsp;social &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; reforms till it is ensured that each and &nbsp;every &nbsp;citizen of this country is&nbsp; &nbsp;able&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;exploit&nbsp;&nbsp; his/her&nbsp; &nbsp;potentials&nbsp;&nbsp; to&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;maximum.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The Constitution, although drafted by the&nbsp; Constituent Assembly, was meant for the &nbsp;people &nbsp;of India &nbsp;and &nbsp;that &nbsp;is &nbsp;why it is &nbsp;given &nbsp;by the people to themselves as expressed in the opening words &ldquo;We the People&rdquo;. What&nbsp; is the &nbsp;most &nbsp;important gift to the &nbsp;common person given by&nbsp; this Constitution is &ldquo;fundamental rights&rdquo; which may &nbsp;be called Human &nbsp;Rights as well. &nbsp; &nbsp; 92.&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;concept of equality &nbsp;in &nbsp;Article &nbsp;14 &nbsp;so &nbsp;also &nbsp;the &nbsp;meaning &nbsp;of the&nbsp; &nbsp;words &nbsp;&lsquo;life&rsquo;,&nbsp;&nbsp; &lsquo;liberty&rsquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;&lsquo;law&rsquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp;&nbsp; Article&nbsp;&nbsp; 21&nbsp; &nbsp;have&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;been considerably enlarged by judicial decisions. Anything which is not &lsquo;reasonable, &nbsp;just &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;fair&rsquo; &nbsp;is &nbsp;not &nbsp;treated &nbsp;to &nbsp;be&nbsp; &nbsp;equal &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;is, therefore, violative of Article 14. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 93.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Speaking for the &nbsp;vision of our founding fathers, in State of Karnataka v. Rangnatha Reddy (AIR 1978 &nbsp;SC &nbsp;215), &nbsp;this &nbsp;Court speaking through &nbsp;Justice Krishna Iyer observed: &ldquo;The social philosophy of the Constitution shapes creative judicial vision and&nbsp;&nbsp; orientation.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Our &nbsp;nation &nbsp;has,&nbsp; &nbsp;as its dynamic&nbsp; &nbsp;doctrine,&nbsp;&nbsp; economic&nbsp; &nbsp;democracy sans&nbsp; which &nbsp;political &nbsp;democracy &nbsp;is chimerical. We say so because our Constitution,&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Parts&nbsp; &nbsp;III&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;IV&nbsp; &nbsp;and &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; elsewhere, ensouls such &nbsp;a&nbsp; value system, and &nbsp;the &nbsp;debate in this case puts precisely this&nbsp; soul&nbsp; in&nbsp; peril&hellip;.Our &nbsp;thesis is&nbsp; that &nbsp;the dialectics of social justice should not be missed if the synthesis of Parts III and &nbsp;Part IV &nbsp;is&nbsp; to &nbsp;influence&nbsp; State action&nbsp; and &nbsp;court pronouncements. Constitutional problems cannot be studied in a socio-economic vacuum, since &nbsp;socio-cultural changes are the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; source&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; new&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; values,&nbsp; &nbsp;and sloughing&nbsp; off &nbsp;old&nbsp; legal&nbsp; thought&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp; part &nbsp;of the process the new equity-loaded legality. A judge is a&nbsp; social scientist in his role as constitutional&nbsp; invigilator &nbsp;and &nbsp;fails functionally if&nbsp; he &nbsp;forgets this dimension in his complex duties.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 94.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;While interpreting Art. 21, this Court has comprehended such diverse &nbsp;aspects as children&nbsp; in &nbsp;jail &nbsp;entitled&nbsp; to &nbsp;special&nbsp; treatment (Sheela Barse &nbsp;vs. Union&nbsp;&nbsp; of &nbsp;India &nbsp;[(1986)3 &nbsp;SCC&nbsp; &nbsp;596], &nbsp;health hazard due &nbsp;to pollution &nbsp;(Mehta &nbsp;M.C. v. Union &nbsp;of &nbsp;India &nbsp;[(1987) &nbsp;4 SCC &nbsp;463], beggars interest in housing (Kalidas Vs. State of J&amp;K [(1987) 3&nbsp; SCC &nbsp;430] health hazard from harmful drugs (Vincent Panikurlangara Vs.&nbsp; Union &nbsp;of &nbsp;India AIR 1987 &nbsp;SC &nbsp;990), &nbsp;right of speedy trial &nbsp;(Reghubir Singh Vs. &nbsp;State of &nbsp;Bihar, &nbsp;AIR 1987 &nbsp;SC 149),&nbsp;&nbsp; handcuffing &nbsp;of &nbsp;prisoners(Aeltemesh &nbsp;Rein&nbsp; &nbsp;Vs. &nbsp;Union&nbsp; &nbsp;of India, AIR 1988 &nbsp;SC&nbsp; 1768), &nbsp;delay in execution of death sentence, immediate medical aid to injured persons(Parmanand Katara &nbsp;Vs. Union of India, AIR 1989 &nbsp;SC 2039), &nbsp;starvation deaths(Kishen Vs. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; State of&nbsp; Orissa, AIR 1989 &nbsp;SC &nbsp;677), &nbsp;the &nbsp;right to know(Reliance Petrochemicals Ltd.&nbsp; Vs. Indian Express Newspapers Bombay Pvt. &nbsp;Ltd. &nbsp;AIR 1989 &nbsp;SC&nbsp; 190), &nbsp;right to open &nbsp;trial(Kehar Singh Vs. State (Delhi&nbsp; Admn.) AIR 1988 &nbsp;SC &nbsp;1883), &nbsp;inhuman conditions an after-care home(Vikram Deo &nbsp;Singh Tomar&nbsp;&nbsp; Vs. &nbsp;State of &nbsp;Bihar, AIR 1988 SC 1782). &nbsp; &nbsp; 95.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;A most &nbsp;remarkable feature of this expansion of Art.21 is that many &nbsp;of the &nbsp;non-justiciable &nbsp;Directive &nbsp;Principles &nbsp;embodied &nbsp;in &nbsp;Part IV of the &nbsp;Constitution &nbsp;have &nbsp;now &nbsp;been resurrected as enforceable fundamental rights by the &nbsp;magic wand &nbsp;of judicial activism, playing on Art.21 e.g. (a) Right to pollution-free water &nbsp;and &nbsp;air (Subhash Kumar &nbsp;Vs. &nbsp; &nbsp; State of Bihar, AIR 1991 SC 420). &nbsp; &nbsp; (b) Right to a reasonable residence (Shantistar Builders Vs. &nbsp; &nbsp; Narayan Khimalal Totame AIR 1990 SC 630). &nbsp; &nbsp; (c)&nbsp; &nbsp;Right&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;food&nbsp; &nbsp;(Supra&nbsp; &nbsp;note&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;14),&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; clothing,&nbsp; &nbsp;decent environment &nbsp;(supra &nbsp;note&nbsp; &nbsp;20)&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;even&nbsp; &nbsp;protection &nbsp;of &nbsp;cultural heritage &nbsp;(Ram&nbsp; &nbsp;Sharan &nbsp;Autyanuprasi &nbsp;&nbsp;Vs. &nbsp;UOI, &nbsp;AIR &nbsp;1989&nbsp; &nbsp;SC 549) . &nbsp; &nbsp; (d) &nbsp;Right&nbsp; of &nbsp;every &nbsp;child&nbsp; to &nbsp;a &nbsp;full &nbsp;development &nbsp;(Shantistar &nbsp; &nbsp; Builders Vs. Narayan Khimalal Totame AIR 1990 SC 630). &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (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&nbsp; Vs. State of Karnataka, AIR &nbsp;1992&nbsp; &nbsp;SC&nbsp;&nbsp; 1858),&nbsp; &nbsp;but &nbsp;not &nbsp;for &nbsp;a &nbsp;professional &nbsp;degree &nbsp;(Unni Krishnan J.P. Vs. State of A.P., AIR 1993 SC 2178). &nbsp; &nbsp; 96.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A corollary &nbsp;of &nbsp;this &nbsp;development &nbsp;is &nbsp;that &nbsp;while &nbsp;so &nbsp;long &nbsp;the negative language of Art.21&nbsp; and &nbsp;use of the &nbsp;word &nbsp;&lsquo;deprived&rsquo; was supposed &nbsp;to &nbsp;impose &nbsp;upon&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; State &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;negative &nbsp;duty &nbsp;not &nbsp;to interfere with the life or liberty of an individual without the sanction of law,&nbsp; &nbsp;the width and &nbsp;amplitude of this provision has now imposed a &nbsp;positive &nbsp;obligation &nbsp;(Vincent Panikurlangara Vs. UOI &nbsp;AIR 1987 SC 990) upon &nbsp;the State to take &nbsp;steps for ensuring to the individual a better &nbsp;enjoyment of his life and dignity, e.g. &ndash; (i) Maintenance &nbsp;and &nbsp;improvement &nbsp;of public &nbsp;health &nbsp;(Vincent &nbsp; &nbsp; Panikurlangara Vs. UOI AIR 1987 SC 990). &nbsp; &nbsp; (ii) &nbsp;Elimination &nbsp;of &nbsp;water &nbsp;and &nbsp;air &nbsp;pollution&nbsp; (Mehta &nbsp;M.C. &nbsp;Vs. &nbsp; &nbsp; UOI (1987) &nbsp;4 SCC 463). &nbsp; &nbsp; (iii) Improvement of means of communication (State of H.P. &nbsp; &nbsp; Vs. Umed Ram Sharma AIR 1986 SC 847). &nbsp; &nbsp; (iv) &nbsp;Rehabilitation &nbsp;of &nbsp;bonded &nbsp;labourers &nbsp;(Bandhuva &nbsp;Mukti &nbsp; &nbsp; Morcha &nbsp;Vs. UOI, AIR 1984 SC 802). &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (v) Providing human conditions if&nbsp; prisons (Sher &nbsp;Singh Vs. State &nbsp;of&nbsp;&nbsp; Punjab &nbsp;AIR &nbsp;1983&nbsp; &nbsp;SC&nbsp; &nbsp;465)&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;protective &nbsp;homes (Sheela Barse Vs. UOI (1986) &nbsp;3 SCC 596). (vi)&nbsp; &nbsp;Providing&nbsp; &nbsp;hygienic&nbsp; &nbsp;condition&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; slaughter-house (Buffalo &nbsp;Traders Welfare Ass. Vs. Maneka &nbsp;Gandhi (1994) &nbsp;Suppl (3) SCC 448) . &nbsp; &nbsp; 97.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The &nbsp;common golden thread which passes through &nbsp;all these pronouncements is that&nbsp; Art.21 guarantees enjoyment of life by all citizens &nbsp;of this &nbsp;country &nbsp;with &nbsp;dignity, &nbsp;viewing &nbsp;this &nbsp;human rights &nbsp;in terms of human development. &nbsp; &nbsp; 98.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The&nbsp; &nbsp;concepts &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;justice&nbsp;&nbsp; social,&nbsp;&nbsp; economic&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;political, equality of status and&nbsp; of opportunity and&nbsp; of assuring dignity of the individual incorporated in the Preamble, clearly recognize &nbsp;the right of &nbsp;one&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;all &nbsp;amongst &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; citizens &nbsp;of &nbsp;these &nbsp;basic&nbsp; &nbsp;essentials designed &nbsp;to &nbsp;flower &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; citizen&rsquo;s &nbsp;personality &nbsp;to &nbsp;its &nbsp;fullest. &nbsp;The concept of &nbsp;equality&nbsp; helps&nbsp; the &nbsp;citizens&nbsp; in&nbsp; reaching &nbsp;their &nbsp;highest potential. &nbsp; &nbsp; 99.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Thus, &nbsp;the emphasis is on the development of an individual in all respects. The&nbsp; basic &nbsp;principle of the&nbsp; dignity and &nbsp;freedom of the individual&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp; &nbsp;common &nbsp;to &nbsp;all&nbsp; &nbsp;nations,&nbsp; &nbsp;particularly&nbsp; &nbsp;those &nbsp;having &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; democratic set up. Democracy requires us to respect and &nbsp;develop the free spirit of human being which is responsible for all progress in &nbsp;human&nbsp; history. &nbsp;Democracy &nbsp;is &nbsp;also &nbsp;a &nbsp;method&nbsp; by &nbsp;which &nbsp;we attempt to raise the living standard of the people and to give opportunities to every&nbsp; person to develop his/her personality. It is founded on peaceful co-existence and&nbsp; cooperative living. If democracy is &nbsp;based on &nbsp;the &nbsp;recognition &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;individuality&nbsp; and dignity of man, &nbsp;as a &nbsp;fortiori we &nbsp;have &nbsp;to&nbsp; recognize the &nbsp;right of a human being to&nbsp; choose his sex/gender identity which is integral his/her personality and &nbsp;is one &nbsp;of&nbsp; the &nbsp;most &nbsp;basic&nbsp; &nbsp;aspect of self- determination dignity and freedom. In fact, there &nbsp;is a growing recognition that the true measure of development of a nation is not economic growth; it is human dignity. &nbsp; &nbsp; 100.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; More than &nbsp;225 &nbsp;years ago, &nbsp;Immanuel Kant propounded the doctrine of free will, namely the &nbsp;free willing individual as a natural law ideal. Without going into the&nbsp; detail analysis of his aforesaid theory &nbsp;of justice (as we are &nbsp;not concerned with the&nbsp; analysis of his jurisprudence) what &nbsp;we &nbsp;want &nbsp;to point out&nbsp; is his emphasis on&nbsp; the &ldquo;freedom&rdquo; of human volition. &nbsp;The concepts of volition and &nbsp;freedom are&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&ldquo;pure&rdquo;,&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; is&nbsp; &nbsp;not&nbsp; &nbsp;drawn&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;from&nbsp; &nbsp;experience.&nbsp; &nbsp;They&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; are independent &nbsp;of any &nbsp;particular &nbsp;body &nbsp;of moral &nbsp;or&nbsp; legal &nbsp;rules. &nbsp;They &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; are &nbsp;presuppositions of all such &nbsp;rules, valid and &nbsp;necessary for all of them. &nbsp; &nbsp; 101.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Over &nbsp;a&nbsp; period of time, two divergent interpretations of the Kantian criterion of justice came to be &nbsp;discussed.&nbsp; &nbsp;One &nbsp;trend &nbsp;was an &nbsp;increasing &nbsp;stress on &nbsp;the &nbsp;maximum&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;individual &nbsp;freedom&nbsp; of action &nbsp;as the &nbsp;end&nbsp;&nbsp; of &nbsp;law. &nbsp;This &nbsp;may &nbsp;not &nbsp;be &nbsp;accepted and&nbsp;&nbsp; was criticized by the protagonist of &lsquo;hedonist utilitarianism&rsquo;, notably Benthem. This school of thoughts laid emphasis on the &nbsp;welfare of the &nbsp;society &nbsp;rather &nbsp;than &nbsp;an &nbsp;individual &nbsp;by propounding &nbsp;the &nbsp;principle of maximum &nbsp;of happiness to most&nbsp; of the people. Fortunately, in the instant case, there &nbsp;is no &nbsp;such dichotomy between the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; individual freedom/liberty we are &nbsp;discussing, as against public good. &nbsp;On the contrary, &nbsp;granting the right to choose gender leads to public good. The &nbsp;second tendency of Kantian &nbsp;criterion &nbsp;of justice &nbsp;was found &nbsp;in re-interpreting&nbsp;&nbsp; &ldquo;freedom&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp; in&nbsp;&nbsp; terms &nbsp;not&nbsp; &nbsp;merely&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;absence &nbsp;of restraint but in terms of attainment of individual perfection. It is this latter &nbsp;trend &nbsp;with &nbsp;which &nbsp;we are &nbsp;concerned in the &nbsp;present case and this &nbsp;holds &nbsp;good&nbsp; &nbsp;even&nbsp; &nbsp;today.&nbsp; &nbsp;As &nbsp;pointed &nbsp;out &nbsp;above,&nbsp; after &nbsp;the Second World War, in the form of U.N.Charter and &nbsp;thereafter there is more&nbsp; emphasis on the attainment of individual perfection. In that united &nbsp;sense at &nbsp;least &nbsp;there&nbsp; &nbsp;is &nbsp;a &nbsp;revival &nbsp;of natural &nbsp;law &nbsp;theory &nbsp;of &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; justice. &nbsp;Blackstone, &nbsp;in &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;opening &nbsp;pages &nbsp;in &nbsp;his&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &lsquo;Vattelian Fashion&rsquo; &nbsp;said &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp;&nbsp; principal &nbsp;aim &nbsp;of &nbsp;society&nbsp; &nbsp;&ldquo;is &nbsp;to &nbsp;protect individuals in the&nbsp; enjoyment of those absolute rights which were vested in them &nbsp;by the immutable laws of nature&hellip;&hellip;&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; 102.&nbsp; &nbsp;In fact, the&nbsp; recognition that&nbsp; every &nbsp;individual has fundamental right to achieve the fullest potential, is founded on the principle that all &nbsp;round &nbsp;growth &nbsp;of an &nbsp;individual &nbsp;leads &nbsp;to &nbsp;common public &nbsp;good. After all, human beings are &nbsp;also valuable asset of any country&nbsp; who contribute to the growth and &nbsp;welfare of their nation and &nbsp;the society. A person who is born &nbsp;with a particular sex and &nbsp;his forced to grow up&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; identifying&nbsp; &nbsp;with&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;sex,&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;not&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; a&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; sex&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;his/her psychological behavior identifies with, faces innumerable obstacles in growing up. In an&nbsp; article appeared in the&nbsp; magazine &ldquo;Eye&rdquo; of the Sunday Indian Express (March 9-15, 2014) &nbsp;a person born as a boy but with trappings of female ( who is now a female after SRS) &nbsp;has narrated these difficulties in the following manner: &nbsp; &nbsp; &ldquo;The &nbsp;other &nbsp;children &nbsp;treated me &nbsp;as a &nbsp;boy, but I preferred playing with girls. Unfortunately,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; grown-ups&nbsp; &nbsp;consider&nbsp; &nbsp;that okay&nbsp; only as long as you are &nbsp;a small child. The constant inner conflict made things difficult for me and, &nbsp;as I grew up, I began to dread social interactions&rdquo;. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 103.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Such &nbsp;a&nbsp; person, carrying dual entity simultaneously, would encounter mental and&nbsp; psychological difficulties which would hinder his/her &nbsp;normal &nbsp;mental&nbsp; and &nbsp;even&nbsp; &nbsp;physical &nbsp;growth. &nbsp;It &nbsp;is &nbsp;not &nbsp;even easy &nbsp;for &nbsp;such&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; person &nbsp;to &nbsp;take&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp; &nbsp;decision &nbsp;to &nbsp;undergo &nbsp;SRS procedure which requires strong &nbsp;mental state of affairs. However, once&nbsp; &nbsp;that&nbsp;&nbsp; is &nbsp;decided &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; sex &nbsp;is &nbsp;changed &nbsp;in &nbsp;tune&nbsp; &nbsp;with psychological &nbsp;behavior,&nbsp; it &nbsp;facilitates &nbsp;spending &nbsp;the &nbsp;life &nbsp;smoothly. Even the process of transition is not smooth.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;transition &nbsp;from a &nbsp;man &nbsp;to a &nbsp;woman &nbsp;is not &nbsp;an &nbsp;overnight process. It is a&nbsp; &ldquo;painfully&rdquo; long procedure that&nbsp; requires a lot of patience. A person must &nbsp;first undergo hormone therapy and, &nbsp;if possible, live as a member of the desired sex for a &nbsp;while. To&nbsp; be &nbsp;eligible for hormone therapy, the person needs at least two psychiatrists to certify that&nbsp; he&nbsp; or she is mentally sound, and &nbsp;schizophrenia, depression and &nbsp;transvestism have&nbsp;&nbsp; to &nbsp;be &nbsp;ruled out &nbsp;first. The &nbsp;psychiatric evaluation involved a serious a questions on how Sunaina felt, when &nbsp;she &nbsp;got to know of her &nbsp;confusion and &nbsp;need for sex change, whether she &nbsp;is a recluse, her socio-economic condition, among other &nbsp;things. &nbsp; &nbsp; 104.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In the&nbsp; same article appearing in the&nbsp; &ldquo;Eye&rdquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;referred to above, the person who had &nbsp;undergone the operation and &nbsp;became &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; a &nbsp;complete&nbsp; girl,&nbsp; Sunaina&nbsp; (name changed) narrates &nbsp;the &nbsp;benefit which &nbsp;ensued because of &nbsp;change in &nbsp;sex, in&nbsp; harmony with &nbsp;her emotional &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; psychological &nbsp;character, as &nbsp;is &nbsp;clear&nbsp; &nbsp;from &nbsp;the following passage in that article: &ldquo;Like many &nbsp;other &nbsp;single people in the&nbsp; city, she can &nbsp;spend hours watching Friends, and &nbsp;reading thrillers and &nbsp;Harry&nbsp; Potter.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;A new &nbsp;happiness has taken &nbsp;seed in her&nbsp; and &nbsp;she &nbsp;says it does not feel &nbsp;that &nbsp;she&nbsp; &nbsp;ever&nbsp;&nbsp; had&nbsp; &nbsp;a &nbsp;male &nbsp;body. &nbsp;&ldquo;I &nbsp;am &nbsp;a person &nbsp;who&nbsp; &nbsp;likes &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; laugh. &nbsp;Till&nbsp; &nbsp;my&nbsp;&nbsp; surgery, behind&nbsp; &nbsp;every&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;smile&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;mine,&nbsp; &nbsp;there&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;was&nbsp;&nbsp; a struggle. Now it&rsquo;s about &nbsp;time that &nbsp;I&nbsp; laughed for real. I have &nbsp;never &nbsp;had &nbsp;a&nbsp; relationship in my life, because &nbsp;somewhere, I&nbsp;&nbsp; always &nbsp;wanted &nbsp;to &nbsp;be treated as a girl.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Now, that I am a woman, I am open&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;a &nbsp;new &nbsp;life,&nbsp; new &nbsp;relationships.&nbsp; I &nbsp;don&rsquo;t have &nbsp;to hide anymore, I don&rsquo;t feel trapped anymore. &nbsp;I&nbsp; &nbsp;love &nbsp;coding &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;my&nbsp;&nbsp; job. &nbsp;I&nbsp; &nbsp;love cooking. &nbsp;I am&nbsp; learning French and &nbsp;when &nbsp;my left foot recovers fully, &nbsp;I plan &nbsp;to learn &nbsp;dancing. And, for the first time this year, &nbsp;I will vote with my new name. I am looking forward to that,&rdquo; she &nbsp;says. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 105.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If a &nbsp;person has changed his/her sex in tune &nbsp;with his/her gender characteristics and &nbsp;perception ,which has become possible because of the advancement in medical science, and &nbsp;when &nbsp;that&nbsp; is permitted &nbsp;by in &nbsp;medical &nbsp;ethics &nbsp;with &nbsp;no &nbsp;legal &nbsp;embargo, we &nbsp;do &nbsp;not find &nbsp;any &nbsp;impediment, &nbsp;legal &nbsp;or otherwise, &nbsp;in &nbsp;giving &nbsp;due &nbsp;recognition to the&nbsp; gender identity based on the &nbsp;reassign sex after undergoing SRS. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 106.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;For&nbsp; these reasons, we &nbsp;are &nbsp;of the &nbsp;opinion that &nbsp;even &nbsp;in the absence of any &nbsp;statutory regime in this country, &nbsp;a&nbsp; person has a constitutional right to get&nbsp; the&nbsp; recognition as male or female after SRS,&nbsp; &nbsp;which &nbsp;was not &nbsp;only&nbsp; his/her &nbsp;gender characteristic&nbsp; but &nbsp;has become his/her physical form as well. (2) Re: Right of TG to be&nbsp; identified and &nbsp;categorized as &ldquo;third gender&rdquo;. &nbsp; &nbsp; 107.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;At the outset, it may be clarified that the term &lsquo;transgender&rsquo; is used in a wider sense, in the&nbsp; present age. &nbsp;Even &nbsp;Gay, &nbsp;Lesbian, bisexual &nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp; included &nbsp;by &nbsp;the &nbsp;descriptor &nbsp;&lsquo;transgender&rsquo;. Etymologically, the &nbsp;term&nbsp; &lsquo;transgender&rsquo; is derived from two words, namely &nbsp;&lsquo;trans&rsquo; &nbsp;and &nbsp;&lsquo;gender&rsquo;. &nbsp;Former &nbsp;is &nbsp;a Latin &nbsp;word &nbsp;which &nbsp;means &lsquo;across&rsquo; or &nbsp;&lsquo;beyond&rsquo;. &nbsp;The &nbsp;grammatical &nbsp;meaning of&nbsp; &lsquo;transgender&rsquo;, therefore, is across or beyond gender. This has come &nbsp;to be known as umbrella &nbsp;term &nbsp;which &nbsp;includes &nbsp;Gay &nbsp;men, &nbsp;Lesbians, &nbsp;bisexuals, and &nbsp;cross dressers within &nbsp;its &nbsp;scope. However, while &nbsp;dealing &nbsp;with the &nbsp;present issue we &nbsp;are &nbsp;not&nbsp; concerned with this aforesaid wider meaning of the expression transgender. &nbsp; &nbsp; 108.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;It &nbsp;is &nbsp;to &nbsp;be &nbsp;emphasized&nbsp; that &nbsp;Transgender in &nbsp;India &nbsp;have assumed &nbsp;distinct&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;separate&nbsp; &nbsp;class/category &nbsp;which&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp; &nbsp;not &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; prevalent in other &nbsp;parts of the&nbsp; World except in some neighbouring countries .&nbsp; &nbsp;In this country, &nbsp;TG community comprise of&nbsp;&nbsp; Hijaras, enunch, Kothis, Aravanis, Jogappas, Shiv-Shakthis etc.&nbsp; &nbsp;In Indian community transgender are &nbsp;referred as Hizra or the third gendered people. There &nbsp;exists wide range of transgender-related identities, cultures, or experience &ndash;including Hijras, Aravanis, Kothis, jogtas/Jogappas, &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; Shiv-Shakthis &nbsp;(Hijras: &nbsp;They &nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp; biological males who reject their masculinity identity in due&nbsp; course of time to identify &nbsp;either &nbsp;as women, or &nbsp;&lsquo;not &nbsp;men&rsquo;. &nbsp;Aravanis: &nbsp;Hijras &nbsp;in &nbsp;Tamil Nadu &nbsp;identify as &lsquo;Aravani&rsquo;. Kothi: Kothis are &nbsp;heterogeneous group. Kothis &nbsp;can &nbsp;be &nbsp;described&nbsp; as biological&nbsp; males &nbsp;who &nbsp;show &nbsp;varying degrees of &lsquo;feminity&rsquo;. Jogtas/Jogappas: They &nbsp;are &nbsp;those who&nbsp; are dedicated to serve as servant of Goddess Renukha Devi whose temples are&nbsp; present in Maharashtra and &nbsp;Karnataka. Sometimes, Jogti Hijras are&nbsp; used to denote such &nbsp;male-to-female transgender persons who are &nbsp;devotees of Goddess Renukha and &nbsp;are &nbsp;also from the Hijra community. Shiv-Shakthis: They are &nbsp;considered as males who are &nbsp;possessed by or particularly close to a goddess and &nbsp;who have &nbsp;feminine gender expression). The way they behave and &nbsp;acts differs from the &nbsp;normative gender role of a&nbsp; men &nbsp;and &nbsp;women. For them,&nbsp; &nbsp;furthering &nbsp;life &nbsp;is &nbsp;far &nbsp;more&nbsp; &nbsp;difficult &nbsp;since&nbsp; &nbsp;such people &nbsp;are &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; neither categorized as men &nbsp;nor women &nbsp;and &nbsp;this deviation is unacceptable to &nbsp;society&rsquo;s&nbsp; vast &nbsp;majority. &nbsp;Endeavour to &nbsp;live a &nbsp;life with dignity is even &nbsp;worse. Obviously transvestites, the&nbsp; hijra beg from &nbsp;merchants &nbsp;who&nbsp;&nbsp; quickly, &nbsp;under&nbsp; &nbsp;threat&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;obscene &nbsp;abuse, respond to&nbsp; the &nbsp;silent demands of such &nbsp;detested individuals. On occasion, especially festival days, &nbsp;they press their claims with boisterous &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;ribald &nbsp;singing &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;dancing.( &nbsp;A&nbsp; Right &nbsp;to &nbsp;Exist: Eunuchs and &nbsp;the&nbsp; State in Nineteenth-Century India Laurence W. Preston Modern &nbsp;Asian &nbsp;Studies, &nbsp;Vol.21,No.2 &nbsp;(1987), &nbsp;pp.371-387). &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 109.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Therefore, we &nbsp;make&nbsp;&nbsp; it &nbsp;clear &nbsp;at &nbsp;the &nbsp;outset that &nbsp;when &nbsp;we discuss about &nbsp;the &nbsp;question of conferring distinct identity, we&nbsp; are restrictive in our meaning which has to be &nbsp;given to TG community i.e. hijra etc., as explained above. &nbsp; &nbsp; 110.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Their &nbsp;historical &nbsp;background&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;individual &nbsp;scenario &nbsp;has been stated in &nbsp;detail &nbsp;in &nbsp;the &nbsp;accompanying &nbsp;judgment &nbsp;rendered by my learned &nbsp;Brother. &nbsp;Few &nbsp;things &nbsp;which &nbsp;follow &nbsp;from &nbsp;this &nbsp;discussion are summed up below: &ldquo;(a)&nbsp; Though&nbsp; &nbsp;in &nbsp;the &nbsp;past&nbsp; &nbsp;TG &nbsp;in &nbsp;India &nbsp;was treated with great&nbsp; &nbsp;respect, that &nbsp;does not &nbsp;remain &nbsp;the &nbsp;scenario&nbsp; any longer. &nbsp;Attrition &nbsp;in &nbsp;their &nbsp;status &nbsp;was triggered &nbsp;with &nbsp;the &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; passing of the&nbsp; Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 &nbsp;which deemed the&nbsp; &nbsp;entire&nbsp; &nbsp;community&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;Hijara&nbsp; &nbsp;persons as &nbsp;innately &lsquo;criminal&rsquo; and &nbsp;&lsquo;adapted to the&nbsp; systematic commission of non-bailable&nbsp; offences&rsquo;.&nbsp; This&nbsp; dogmatism &nbsp;and indoctrination&nbsp; of &nbsp;Indian&nbsp; people &nbsp;with &nbsp;aforesaid presumption, was totally capricious and&nbsp; nefarious. There could&nbsp; &nbsp;not&nbsp; &nbsp;have&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;been &nbsp;more&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; harm&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;caused &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;this community with the passing of the aforesaid brutal Legislation during British Regime with the&nbsp; vicious and savage this mind set. To&nbsp; add &nbsp;insult to&nbsp; the &nbsp;irreparable injury&nbsp; caused, Section&nbsp; 377 &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;Indian&nbsp; Penal&nbsp; Code was misused and &nbsp;abused as there &nbsp;was a&nbsp; tendency, in British period, to arrest and prosecute TG persons under Section 377 merely on suspicion. To undergo this sordid historical &nbsp;harm &nbsp;caused to TGs of India, &nbsp;there &nbsp;is &nbsp;a need for incessant efforts with effervescence. &nbsp; &nbsp; (b) There &nbsp;may&nbsp; have &nbsp;been marginal improvement in the social and &nbsp;economic condition of TGs &nbsp;in India. It is still far &nbsp;from &nbsp;satisfactory &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; these &nbsp;TGs continue &nbsp;to &nbsp;face different kinds of economic blockade and social degradation. They still face multiple forms of oppression in this country. &nbsp;Discrimination qua them is clearly discernable in various fields including health care, employment, education, social cohesion etc. &nbsp; &nbsp; (c) The&nbsp; TGs are &nbsp;also citizens of this country. &nbsp;They&nbsp; also have &nbsp;equal right to achieve their full potential as human beings. &nbsp;For &nbsp;this &nbsp;purpose, not &nbsp;only &nbsp;they &nbsp;are &nbsp;entitled &nbsp;to &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; proper&nbsp;&nbsp; education, social assimilation, access to &nbsp;public and &nbsp;other &nbsp;places but employment opportunities as well. The &nbsp;discussion above while dealing with the&nbsp; first issue, therefore, equally applies to this issue as well. &nbsp; &nbsp; 111.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;We are&nbsp; of the firm opinion that by recognizing such &nbsp;TGs as third gender, they &nbsp;would be &nbsp;able to&nbsp; enjoy their human rights, to which they&nbsp; are &nbsp;largely deprived of for want &nbsp;of this recognition. As mentioned &nbsp;above, the &nbsp;issue &nbsp;of transgender is &nbsp;not merely &nbsp;a social or &nbsp;medical &nbsp;issue &nbsp;but&nbsp;&nbsp; there&nbsp; &nbsp;is &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; need &nbsp;to &nbsp;adopt&nbsp; &nbsp;human &nbsp;right approach towards transgenders which may focus on functioning as an interaction between a person and&nbsp; their environment highlighting the role of society &nbsp;and&nbsp; changing the stigma attached to them. &nbsp;TGs face many&nbsp; disadvantages due&nbsp; to various reasons, particularly for gender abnormality which in certain level needs to&nbsp; physical and mental disability. Up till recently they were &nbsp;subjected to cruelty, pity or charity. Fortunately, there &nbsp;is a paradigm shift in thinking from the aforesaid approach to a rights based approach. Though, this may be &nbsp;the &nbsp;thinking of human rights activist, the &nbsp;society has not &nbsp;kept pace with this shift. There &nbsp;appears to be&nbsp; limited public knowledge and&nbsp; &nbsp;understanding &nbsp;of &nbsp;same-sex&nbsp; sexual &nbsp;orientation &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;people whose gender identity and&nbsp; expression are&nbsp; incongruent with their biological &nbsp;sex. &nbsp;As a &nbsp;result &nbsp;of &nbsp;this &nbsp;approach, such&nbsp; &nbsp;persons are &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; socially excluded from the &nbsp;mainstream of the &nbsp;society &nbsp;and &nbsp;they&nbsp; are denied&nbsp; equal &nbsp;access to &nbsp;those fundamental &nbsp;rights&nbsp; and &nbsp;freedoms that&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; other&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;people&nbsp; &nbsp;enjoy&nbsp; &nbsp;freely.(See,&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijras/Transgender Women &nbsp;in India: HIV, Human &nbsp;Rights and&nbsp; Social Exclusion, UNDP report on India Issue: December, 2010). &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 112.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Some&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;common&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;reported&nbsp; &nbsp;problem&nbsp; &nbsp;that transgender most &nbsp;commonly &nbsp;suffer &nbsp;are: &nbsp;harassment by the &nbsp;police in &nbsp;public &nbsp;places, &nbsp;harassment at &nbsp;home, police&nbsp; entrapment, rape, discriminations, &nbsp;abuse in &nbsp;public &nbsp;places &nbsp;et.al.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;other&nbsp;&nbsp; major problems that&nbsp; the&nbsp; transgender people face in their daily life are discrimination,&nbsp;&nbsp; lack&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;educational&nbsp;&nbsp; facilities,&nbsp;&nbsp; lack&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;medical facilities, homelessness, unemployment, depression, hormone pill abuse, &nbsp;tobacco&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;alcohol &nbsp;abuse, &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;problems &nbsp;related &nbsp;to marriage and adoption. In spite of the adoption of Universal Declaration &nbsp;of &nbsp;Human&nbsp; &nbsp;Rights &nbsp;(UDHR) &nbsp;in &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp; year&nbsp; &nbsp;1948,&nbsp; &nbsp;the inherent dignity, equality, respect and&nbsp; rights of all human beings throughout &nbsp;the &nbsp;world, &nbsp;the &nbsp;transgender are&nbsp;&nbsp; denied &nbsp;basic&nbsp; &nbsp;human rights. This denial is premised on a prevalent juridical assumption that&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;law &nbsp;should &nbsp;target&nbsp; &nbsp;discrimination &nbsp;based &nbsp;on&nbsp;&nbsp; sex &nbsp;(i.e., whether a &nbsp;person is&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; anatomically &nbsp;male &nbsp;or &nbsp;female),&nbsp; rather&nbsp; &nbsp;than &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; gender (i.e., whether a&nbsp; person has qualities that &nbsp;society &nbsp;consider masculine &nbsp;or feminine &nbsp;(Katherine &nbsp;M.Franke, The &nbsp;Central &nbsp;Mistake of&nbsp; &nbsp;Sex&nbsp; &nbsp;Discrimination&nbsp;&nbsp; Law:&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Disaggregation&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;Sex&nbsp; &nbsp;from Gender, 144&nbsp; U.Pa.Rev.1,3 (1995) &nbsp;(arguing that&nbsp; by defining sex in biological terms, &nbsp;the law has failed to distinguish sex from gender, and &nbsp;sexual&nbsp; differentiation&nbsp; from &nbsp;sex discrimination).&nbsp; Transgender people are &nbsp;generally excluded from the&nbsp; society &nbsp;and &nbsp;people think transgenderism &nbsp;as a &nbsp;medical&nbsp; disease.&nbsp; Much &nbsp;like&nbsp; the &nbsp;disability, which &nbsp;in &nbsp;earlier &nbsp;times &nbsp;was considered as an &nbsp;illness &nbsp;but &nbsp;later &nbsp;on looked &nbsp;upon &nbsp;as a &nbsp;right &nbsp;based&nbsp; approach. The &nbsp;question &nbsp;whether transgenderism&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp; &nbsp;disease&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp;&nbsp; hotly&nbsp;&nbsp; debated &nbsp;in&nbsp;&nbsp; both&nbsp; &nbsp;the transgender and&nbsp; medical-psychiatric communities. But a prevalent view &nbsp;regarding &nbsp;this &nbsp;is &nbsp;that &nbsp;transgenderism &nbsp;is &nbsp;not &nbsp;a &nbsp;disease &nbsp;at &nbsp;all, but a benign normal variant of the&nbsp; human experience akin to left- handedness. &nbsp; &nbsp; 113.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;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 &nbsp;the &nbsp;sexual &nbsp;recognition &nbsp;as &lsquo;third &nbsp;gender&rsquo; &nbsp;would &nbsp;be &nbsp;available &nbsp;to this community more &nbsp;meaningfully viz. the right to vote,&nbsp; the right to own property, the right to marry, &nbsp;the right to claim a formal identity &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; through &nbsp;a passport and&nbsp; a ration card, &nbsp;a driver&rsquo;s license, the right to education, employment, health so on. &nbsp; &nbsp; 114.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Further, &nbsp;there &nbsp;seems to be &nbsp;no&nbsp; reason why a&nbsp; transgender must &nbsp;be &nbsp;denied of basic &nbsp;human rights which includes Right to life and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; liberty&nbsp; &nbsp;with&nbsp; &nbsp;dignity,&nbsp; &nbsp;Right&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;Privacy&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;freedom &nbsp;&nbsp;of expression, Right to Education and&nbsp; Empowerment, Right against violence, &nbsp;Right &nbsp;against &nbsp;Exploitation &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; Right &nbsp;against Discrimination. Constitution has fulfilled its duty of providing rights to &nbsp;transgenders.&nbsp; &nbsp;Now &nbsp;it&rsquo;s&nbsp; time &nbsp;for &nbsp;us to &nbsp;recognize&nbsp; this &nbsp;and &nbsp;to extend and&nbsp; interpret the Constitution in such a manner to ensure a dignified life of transgender people. &nbsp;All this can&nbsp; be achieved if the beginning is made with the recognition that TG as third gender. &nbsp; &nbsp; 115.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In order &nbsp;to translate the&nbsp; aforesaid rights of TGs into reality, it becomes imperative to first assign them&nbsp; their proper &nbsp;&lsquo;sex&rsquo;. As is stated earlier, at the&nbsp; time of birth of a child itself, sex is assigned. However, it is either male or female. In the process, the society &nbsp;as well as law, has completely ignored the &nbsp;basic &nbsp;human right of TGs to give them &nbsp;their appropriate sex categorization. Up to now,&nbsp; they have&nbsp; &nbsp;either &nbsp;been treated as&nbsp; male &nbsp;or &nbsp;female. &nbsp;This &nbsp;is &nbsp;not &nbsp;only improper &nbsp;as it is far &nbsp;from truth, &nbsp;but indignified to these&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;TGs and &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; violates their human rights. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 116.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Though &nbsp;there &nbsp;may not be any statutory regime recognizing &nbsp; &nbsp; &lsquo;third gender&rsquo; for these TGs. &nbsp;However, we find enough justification to recognize this right of theirs in natural law sphere. Further, &nbsp;such a justification can &nbsp;be&nbsp; traced to the&nbsp; various provisions contained in Part&nbsp;&nbsp; III&nbsp; of &nbsp;the &nbsp;Constitution &nbsp;relating &nbsp;to &nbsp;&lsquo;Fundamental &nbsp;Rights&rsquo;. &nbsp;In addition to the powerful justification accomplished in the accompanying opinion of my esteemed Brother, &nbsp;additional raison d&rsquo;etre for this conclusion is stated hereinafter. &nbsp; &nbsp; 117.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We are &nbsp;in the &nbsp;age &nbsp;of democracy, that &nbsp;too substantive and liberal democracy. Such &nbsp;a&nbsp; democracy is not&nbsp; based solely on&nbsp; the rule of people through &nbsp;their representatives&rsquo; namely formal democracy. It&nbsp; also has other &nbsp;percepts like Rule of Law, &nbsp;human rights, independence of judiciary, separation of powers etc. &nbsp; &nbsp; 118.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There&nbsp; &nbsp;is &nbsp;a &nbsp;recognition &nbsp;to &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;hard&nbsp; &nbsp;realty &nbsp;that&nbsp; &nbsp;without protection for human rights there&nbsp;&nbsp; can &nbsp;be &nbsp;no &nbsp;democracy and &nbsp;no justification &nbsp;for democracy. In this &nbsp;scenario, &nbsp;while &nbsp;working &nbsp;within the &nbsp;realm &nbsp;of separation &nbsp;of powers (which &nbsp;is &nbsp;also &nbsp;fundamental &nbsp;to the &nbsp;substantive &nbsp;democracy), the &nbsp;judicial &nbsp;role &nbsp;is &nbsp;not only &nbsp;to decide the &nbsp;dispute &nbsp;before &nbsp;the &nbsp;Court, &nbsp;but &nbsp;to &nbsp;uphold &nbsp;the &nbsp;rule &nbsp;of law &nbsp;and &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ensure access to justice to the marginalized section of the society. It &nbsp;cannot&nbsp; be &nbsp;denied &nbsp;that &nbsp;TGs &nbsp;belong &nbsp;to &nbsp;the &nbsp;unprivileged &nbsp;class which is a marginalized section. &nbsp; &nbsp; 119.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;role &nbsp;of the &nbsp;Court &nbsp;is &nbsp;to understand the &nbsp;central &nbsp;purpose and &nbsp;theme of the&nbsp; Constitution for the&nbsp; welfare of the&nbsp; society. &nbsp;Our Constitution, like the &nbsp;law of the &nbsp;society, &nbsp;is a living organism.&nbsp;&nbsp; It is based on&nbsp; a&nbsp; factual and &nbsp;social realty that &nbsp;is constantly changing. Sometimes a&nbsp; change in the &nbsp;law precedes societal change and &nbsp;is even &nbsp;intended &nbsp;to stimulate &nbsp;it. Sometimes, &nbsp;a &nbsp;change in &nbsp;the &nbsp;law &nbsp;is the result in the social realty. When &nbsp;we discuss about &nbsp;the rights of TGs in&nbsp; the &nbsp;constitutional &nbsp;context,&nbsp; &nbsp;we &nbsp;find&nbsp; that &nbsp;in&nbsp; order &nbsp;to &nbsp;bring about &nbsp;complete paradigm shift, law has to play more &nbsp;pre-dominant role. As TGs in India, are&nbsp; neither male nor female, treating them &nbsp;as belonging&nbsp; to &nbsp;either &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;aforesaid &nbsp;categories,&nbsp; is&nbsp; the &nbsp;denial&nbsp; of these constitutional rights. It is the&nbsp; denial of social justice which in turn has the effect of denying political and economic justice. &nbsp; &nbsp; 120.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In Dattatraya Govind Mahajan &nbsp;vs. &nbsp;State of &nbsp;Maharashtra &nbsp; &nbsp; (AIR 1977 SC 915) this Court observed: &nbsp; &nbsp; &ldquo;Our&nbsp; &nbsp;Constitution&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp; &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; tryst&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;with destiny, preamble with luscent solemnity in the &nbsp;words &lsquo;Justice &ndash; &nbsp;social, economic&nbsp; and political.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;three&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;great&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;branches&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Government, as &nbsp;creatures &nbsp;of &nbsp;the Constitution, must&nbsp; remember this promise in their fundamental role and &nbsp;forget it at&nbsp; their peril, for to do so will be a betrayal of chose high values and&nbsp; goals which this nation set for &nbsp;itself&nbsp; in &nbsp;its&nbsp; objective &nbsp;Resolution &nbsp;and whose elaborate summation appears in Part IV of the Paramount Parchment. The history of our &nbsp;country&rsquo;s struggle for&nbsp; independence was the story of a battle between the forces of&nbsp; &nbsp;socio-economic&nbsp; &nbsp;exploitation&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; the masses&nbsp;&nbsp; of&nbsp; &nbsp;deprived&nbsp; &nbsp;people&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;varying degrees and &nbsp;the&nbsp; Constitution sets the&nbsp; new sights of &nbsp;the &nbsp;nation&hellip;..Once&nbsp; we &nbsp;grasp the dharma of &nbsp;the &nbsp;Constitution,&nbsp; the &nbsp;new orientation of the karma &nbsp;of adjudication becomes clear. &nbsp;Our founding fathers, aware of &nbsp;our &nbsp;social&nbsp; realities,&nbsp; forged&nbsp; our &nbsp;fighting faith and integrating justice in its social, economic and&nbsp; political aspects. While contemplating the meaning of the Articles of the &nbsp;Organic Law,&nbsp; the &nbsp;Supreme Court &nbsp;shall not disown Social Justice.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 121.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Oliver &nbsp;Wendlle &nbsp;Holmes&nbsp; said: &nbsp;&ldquo;the&nbsp; life&nbsp; of &nbsp;law&nbsp; has been logical; &nbsp;it has been experience&rdquo;.&nbsp; &nbsp;It may &nbsp;be &nbsp;added that &nbsp;&lsquo;the &nbsp;life &nbsp;of law &nbsp;is &nbsp;not &nbsp;just &nbsp;logic &nbsp;or &nbsp;experience. &nbsp;The &nbsp;life &nbsp;of law &nbsp;is &nbsp;renewable based on &nbsp;experience &nbsp;and &nbsp;logic, &nbsp;which &nbsp;adapted law&nbsp; to &nbsp;the &nbsp;new social realty&rsquo;. Recognizing this fact, the aforesaid provisions of the Constitution are &nbsp;required to be &nbsp;given new&nbsp; and &nbsp;dynamic meaning with the&nbsp; inclusion of rights of TGs as well. In this process, the first and &nbsp;foremost &nbsp;right &nbsp;is to recognize &nbsp;TGs as &lsquo;third &nbsp;gender&rsquo; &nbsp;in law as well.&nbsp; This&nbsp; is &nbsp;a &nbsp;recognition &nbsp;of &nbsp;their &nbsp;right &nbsp;of &nbsp;equality &nbsp;enshrined &nbsp;in &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Art.14 as well as their human right to life with dignity, which is the mandate of the&nbsp; Art.21 of the&nbsp; Constitution. This interpretation is in consonance with new social needs. By doing so, this Court is only bridging the&nbsp; gap &nbsp;between the&nbsp; law and &nbsp;life and &nbsp;that&nbsp; is the&nbsp; primary role &nbsp;of &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;Court&nbsp; &nbsp;in &nbsp;a&nbsp;&nbsp; democracy. &nbsp;It &nbsp;only &nbsp;amounts &nbsp;to &nbsp;giving purposive interpretation to the&nbsp; aforesaid provisions of the Constitution &nbsp;so &nbsp;that &nbsp;it &nbsp;can &nbsp;adapt to &nbsp;the &nbsp;changes in&nbsp; realty. &nbsp;Law without purpose has no&nbsp; raison d&rsquo;etre. The &nbsp;purpose of law is the evolution of a happy &nbsp;society. &nbsp;As Justice Iyer has aptly put: &nbsp; &nbsp; &ldquo;The&nbsp;&nbsp; purpose &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;law&nbsp;&nbsp; is&nbsp; &nbsp;the establishment of the welfare of society &ldquo;and a society &nbsp;whose members enjoy welfare &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;happiness &nbsp;may&nbsp;&nbsp; be described&nbsp;&nbsp; as &nbsp;a&nbsp; &nbsp;just&nbsp;&nbsp; society.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;It&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp;&nbsp; a negation of justice to say that some members, &nbsp;some &nbsp;groups,&nbsp; some minorities, some individuals do not have welfare: &nbsp;on &nbsp;the &nbsp;other&nbsp;&nbsp; hand&nbsp; &nbsp;they &nbsp;suffer from ill-fare. So it is axiomatic that law, if it&nbsp; &nbsp;is&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;fulfil&nbsp; &nbsp;itself,&nbsp; &nbsp;must&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; produce &nbsp;a contented, dynamic&nbsp; society&nbsp; &nbsp;which&nbsp; is at once &nbsp;meting out justice to its members.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 122.&nbsp; &nbsp;It is now very well recognized that the Constitution is a living character;&nbsp; &nbsp;its&nbsp; &nbsp;interpretation&nbsp; &nbsp;must&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;be&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;dynamic.&nbsp; &nbsp;It&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; must&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;be understood in &nbsp;a &nbsp;way &nbsp;that &nbsp;intricate &nbsp;and &nbsp;advances &nbsp;modern realty. The judiciary is the guardian of the Constitution and &nbsp;by ensuring to &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; grant &nbsp;legitimate &nbsp;right &nbsp;that &nbsp;is &nbsp;due &nbsp;to TGs, &nbsp;we &nbsp;are &nbsp;simply &nbsp;protecting the Constitution and &nbsp;the democracy inasmuch as judicial protection and&nbsp; democracy in general and &nbsp;of human rights in particular is a characteristic of our vibrant democracy. &nbsp; &nbsp; 123.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;As we &nbsp;have&nbsp;&nbsp; pointed out &nbsp;above, our &nbsp;Constitution inheres liberal and &nbsp;substantive democracy with &nbsp;rule of law as an important and &nbsp;fundamental pillar. It has its own&nbsp; internal morality based on dignity&nbsp; and &nbsp;equality&nbsp; of &nbsp;all &nbsp;human beings. &nbsp;Rule&nbsp; of &nbsp;law&nbsp; demands protection &nbsp;of &nbsp;individual &nbsp;human &nbsp;rights.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Such&nbsp; &nbsp;rights &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;to &nbsp;be guaranteed to &nbsp;each and &nbsp;every &nbsp;human being.&nbsp; These TGs, &nbsp;even though&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; insignificant &nbsp;in &nbsp;numbers, &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;still&nbsp; &nbsp;human &nbsp;beings &nbsp;and therefore they have &nbsp;every right to enjoy their human rights. &nbsp; &nbsp; 124.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;National&nbsp; &nbsp;Human&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Rights&nbsp; &nbsp;Commission&nbsp; &nbsp;vs. &nbsp;State &nbsp;of Arunachal Pradesh (AIR 1996 SC 1234), &nbsp;This Court observed: &ldquo;We &nbsp;are&nbsp;&nbsp; a &nbsp;country &nbsp;governed &nbsp;by &nbsp;the Rule&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;Law.&nbsp; &nbsp;Our&nbsp; &nbsp;Constitution&nbsp; &nbsp;confers certain &nbsp;rights &nbsp;on &nbsp;every &nbsp;human being &nbsp;and certain&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;other&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;rights&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;on&nbsp; &nbsp;citizens.&nbsp; &nbsp;Every person is entitled to equality before the&nbsp; law and equal protection of the laws.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 125.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The rule of law is not merely public order.&nbsp; &nbsp;The rule of law is social &nbsp;justice &nbsp;based on &nbsp;public &nbsp;order.&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;law &nbsp;exists &nbsp;to &nbsp;ensure &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; proper &nbsp;social life. Social life, however, is not a goal in itself but a means to&nbsp; allow the &nbsp;individual to&nbsp; life in dignity and &nbsp;development himself.&nbsp; &nbsp;The&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; human&nbsp;&nbsp; being&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;human&nbsp;&nbsp; rights&nbsp; &nbsp;underlie&nbsp; &nbsp;this substantive perception of the &nbsp;rule of law, with a &nbsp;proper&nbsp;&nbsp; balance among&nbsp; the &nbsp;different &nbsp;rights &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;between &nbsp;human&nbsp; rights &nbsp;and&nbsp; &nbsp;the proper &nbsp;needs of society. &nbsp;The&nbsp; substantive rule of law &ldquo;is the&nbsp; rule of proper&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;law,&nbsp; &nbsp;which&nbsp; &nbsp;balances&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;needs &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;society&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; the individual.&rdquo; This is the &nbsp;rule of law that &nbsp;strikes a&nbsp; balance between society&rsquo;s need for political independence, social equality, economic development, and &nbsp;internal order, &nbsp;on the &nbsp;one &nbsp;hand, and &nbsp;the &nbsp;needs of the individual, his personal liberty, and&nbsp; his human dignity on the other. &nbsp;It is the &nbsp;duty of the &nbsp;Court &nbsp;to protect &nbsp;this rich concept of the rule of law. &nbsp; &nbsp; 126.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;By recognizing &nbsp;TGs as third &nbsp;gender, this &nbsp;Court &nbsp;is &nbsp;not only upholding the rule of law but also advancing justice to the class, so far &nbsp;deprived &nbsp;of their &nbsp;legitimate &nbsp;natural &nbsp;and &nbsp;constitutional &nbsp;rights. &nbsp;It is, therefore, the only just solution which ensures justice not only to TGs but also justice to the &nbsp;society as well. Social justice does not mean equality before law in papers but to translate the spirit of the Constitution, enshrined in the&nbsp; Preamble, the &nbsp;Fundamental Rights and &nbsp;the Directive Principles of State Policy into action, whose arms &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; are &nbsp;long enough to bring within its reach and &nbsp;embrace this right of recognition to the TGs which legitimately belongs to them. &nbsp; &nbsp; 127.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Aristotle opined that&nbsp; treating all equal things equal and &nbsp;all unequal &nbsp;things &nbsp;unequal &nbsp;amounts to justice. &nbsp;Kant &nbsp;was of the &nbsp;view that &nbsp;at &nbsp;the &nbsp;basis of &nbsp;all&nbsp; conceptions&nbsp; of &nbsp;justice,&nbsp; no &nbsp;matter&nbsp; &nbsp;which culture or religion has inspired them, &nbsp;lies the&nbsp; golden rule that&nbsp; you should&nbsp; &nbsp;treat&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; others &nbsp;as &nbsp;you&nbsp; &nbsp;would&nbsp; &nbsp;want&nbsp; &nbsp;everybody &nbsp;to&nbsp; &nbsp;treat everybody else, including yourself. When Locke conceived of individual&nbsp; &nbsp;liberties,&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; individuals&nbsp; &nbsp;he&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; had&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;mind&nbsp; &nbsp;were independently rich males. Similarly, Kant&nbsp; thought &nbsp;of economically self-sufficient males as the only possible citizens of a liberal democratic state. These theories may &nbsp;not&nbsp; be &nbsp;relevant in today&rsquo;s context &nbsp;as it is perceived that the bias of their perspective is all too obvious &nbsp;to &nbsp;us.&nbsp;&nbsp; In &nbsp;post-traditional &nbsp;liberal &nbsp;democratic &nbsp;theories &nbsp;of justice, &nbsp;the &nbsp;background assumption&nbsp; is &nbsp;that &nbsp;humans have&nbsp; &nbsp;equal value &nbsp;and &nbsp;should, &nbsp;therefore, &nbsp;be &nbsp;treated as equal, &nbsp;as well &nbsp;as by equal laws. This can &nbsp;be&nbsp; described as &lsquo;Reflective Equilibrium&rsquo;. The method of&nbsp; Reflective Equilibrium was first introduced by &nbsp;Nelson Goodman in &nbsp;&lsquo;Fact, &nbsp;Fiction &nbsp;and &nbsp;Forecast&rsquo; &nbsp;(1955).&nbsp; &nbsp;However,&nbsp; it &nbsp;is John &nbsp;Rawls &nbsp;who &nbsp;elaborated &nbsp;this &nbsp;method of Reflective &nbsp;Equilibrium by &nbsp;introducing&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;conception&nbsp; &nbsp;of &nbsp;&lsquo;Justice&nbsp; &nbsp;as &nbsp;Fairness&rsquo;.&nbsp; &nbsp;In &nbsp;his &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &lsquo;Theory of Justice&rsquo;, Rawls has proposed a model of just institutions for&nbsp; &nbsp;democratic&nbsp; &nbsp;societies.&nbsp; &nbsp;Herein&nbsp; &nbsp;he&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; draws&nbsp; &nbsp;on&nbsp; &nbsp;certain&nbsp; &nbsp;pre- theoretical&nbsp; &nbsp;elementary&nbsp;&nbsp; moral&nbsp; &nbsp;beliefs&nbsp; &nbsp;(&lsquo;considered&nbsp; &nbsp;judgments&rsquo;), which he&nbsp; assumes most &nbsp;members of democratic societies would accept. &ldquo;[Justice as fairness [&hellip;.] tries to draw&nbsp; solely upon &nbsp;basic intuitive ideas that&nbsp; are &nbsp;embedded in the&nbsp; political institutions of a constitutional democratic regime and &nbsp;the&nbsp; public traditions of their interpretations. Justice as fairness is a political conception in part because it starts from within &nbsp;a certain political tradition. Based on this preliminary understanding of just institutions in a&nbsp; democratic society, &nbsp;Rawls aims at a set of universalistic rules with the&nbsp; help of which the justice of present formal and &nbsp;informal institutions can &nbsp;be assessed. The&nbsp; ensuing conception of justice is called &lsquo;justice as fairness&rsquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;When&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; we&nbsp; &nbsp;combine&nbsp; &nbsp;Rawls&rsquo;s&nbsp; &nbsp;notion&nbsp; &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;Justice&nbsp; &nbsp;as Fairness with the &nbsp;notions of Distributive Justice, to&nbsp; which Noble Laureate Prof. Amartya &nbsp;Sen &nbsp;has also subscribed, we get jurisprudential&nbsp; basis for &nbsp;doing&nbsp; justice&nbsp; to &nbsp;the &nbsp;Vulnerable&nbsp; Groups which definitely include TGs. &nbsp;Once &nbsp;it is accepted that&nbsp; the&nbsp; TGs are also &nbsp;part &nbsp;of &nbsp;vulnerable &nbsp;groups and&nbsp;&nbsp; marginalized &nbsp;section &nbsp;of &nbsp;the society,&nbsp; &nbsp;we &nbsp;are&nbsp; &nbsp;only &nbsp;bringing &nbsp;them&nbsp;&nbsp; within &nbsp;the &nbsp;fold &nbsp;of &nbsp;aforesaid rights&nbsp; &nbsp;recognized&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;respect &nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;other&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;classes &nbsp;falling&nbsp; &nbsp;in&nbsp; &nbsp;the &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; marginalized group. &nbsp;This is the&nbsp; minimum riposte in an&nbsp; attempt to assuage the&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;insult &nbsp;and &nbsp;injury &nbsp;suffered &nbsp;by &nbsp;them &nbsp;so &nbsp;far &nbsp;as to pave &nbsp;way for fast tracking the realization of their human rights. &nbsp; &nbsp; 128.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The &nbsp;aforesaid, &nbsp;thus, &nbsp;are &nbsp;my &nbsp;reasons for treating &nbsp;TGs as &nbsp; &nbsp; &lsquo;third gender&rsquo; for the purposes of safeguarding and enforcing appropriately their rights guaranteed under &nbsp;the Constitution. These are &nbsp;my reasons in support of our Constitution to the&nbsp; two issues in these petitions. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;.J. (A.K.Sikri) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 129.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;We, therefore, declare: &nbsp; &nbsp; (1) Hijras, &nbsp;Eunuchs, apart &nbsp;from &nbsp;binary &nbsp;gender, be &nbsp;treated as &ldquo;third gender&rdquo; for the&nbsp; purpose of safeguarding their rights under &nbsp;Part &nbsp;III of &nbsp;our&nbsp; Constitution and &nbsp;the &nbsp;laws made by the Parliament and the State Legislature. (2) Transgender persons&rsquo; right to decide their self-identified gender is also upheld and &nbsp;the Centre and State Governments are&nbsp; directed to grant&nbsp; legal recognition of their gender identity such &nbsp;as male, female or as third gender. (3) &nbsp;We &nbsp;direct&nbsp; the &nbsp;Centre and &nbsp;the &nbsp;State &nbsp;Governments to take &nbsp;steps to treat &nbsp;them &nbsp;as socially &nbsp;and &nbsp;educationally &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; backward classes &nbsp;of citizens and &nbsp;extend all kinds of reservation in cases of admission in educational institutions and for public appointments. (4) Centre and &nbsp;State Governments are &nbsp;directed to operate separate HIV &nbsp;Sero-survellance&nbsp; Centres since&nbsp; &nbsp;Hijras/ Transgenders face several sexual health issues. (5)&nbsp; &nbsp;Centre&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;State&nbsp; &nbsp;Governments &nbsp;should&nbsp; &nbsp;seriously address the &nbsp;problems &nbsp;being &nbsp;faced &nbsp;by Hijras/Transgenders such &nbsp;as fear, shame, gender dysphoria, social pressure, depression, suicidal tendencies, social stigma, etc. &nbsp;and &nbsp;any&nbsp; insistence for SRS &nbsp;for declaring one&rsquo;s gender is immoral and illegal. (6) &nbsp;Centre&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;State &nbsp;Governments should &nbsp;take&nbsp; &nbsp;proper measures &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; provide &nbsp;medical &nbsp;care&nbsp; &nbsp;to&nbsp;&nbsp; TGs &nbsp;in &nbsp;the hospitals and&nbsp; also provide them &nbsp;separate public toilets and other &nbsp;facilities. (7) Centre and &nbsp;State Governments should &nbsp;also &nbsp;take &nbsp;steps for &nbsp;framing&nbsp; various&nbsp; social&nbsp; welfare &nbsp;schemes for &nbsp;their betterment. (8) &nbsp;Centre and &nbsp;State&nbsp; Governments should &nbsp;take &nbsp;steps to create public awareness so that&nbsp; TGs will feel that&nbsp; they are &nbsp;also part &nbsp;and &nbsp;parcel of the &nbsp;social life and &nbsp;be&nbsp; not treated as untouchables. (9)&nbsp; &nbsp;Centre and &nbsp;the &nbsp;State Governments should also take measures &nbsp;to &nbsp;regain &nbsp;their &nbsp;respect&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp;place &nbsp;in &nbsp;the society&nbsp; &nbsp;which &nbsp;once&nbsp; &nbsp;they &nbsp;enjoyed &nbsp;in&nbsp; our &nbsp;cultural&nbsp; and social life. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 130.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;We&nbsp; are &nbsp;informed an &nbsp;Expert &nbsp;Committee has already been constituted to make &nbsp;an in-depth study&nbsp; of the problems faced by the Transgender community and &nbsp;suggest measures that &nbsp;can &nbsp;be &nbsp;taken by the&nbsp; Government to ameliorate their problems and &nbsp;to submit its report with recommendations within three &nbsp;months of its constitution. Let&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;recommendations&nbsp;&nbsp; be&nbsp; &nbsp;examined&nbsp;&nbsp; based &nbsp;on&nbsp; &nbsp;the&nbsp; &nbsp;legal declaration made in this Judgment and implemented within six months. &nbsp; &nbsp; 131.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Writ Petitions are, &nbsp;accordingly, allowed, as above. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &hellip;..&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;J. (K.S. Radhakrishnan) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; New Delhi, April 15, 2014. &nbsp; &hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;.J. (A.K. Sikri) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ITEM NO.1A (For Judgment) &nbsp;COURT NO.7&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;SECTION PIL &nbsp; S U P R E M E&nbsp;&nbsp; C O U R T&nbsp;&nbsp; O F &nbsp;I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS &nbsp; WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO(s). 400 OF 2012 &nbsp; NATIONAL LEGAL SER. AUTH.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Petitioner(s) VERSUS UNION OF INDIA &amp; ORS.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Respondent(s) WITH W.P(C) NO. 604 of 2013 &nbsp; Date: 15/04/2014&nbsp; &nbsp;These matters were called on for pronouncement of judgment. &nbsp; For Petitioner(s) &nbsp;Ms. Anitha Shenoy,AOR Ms. Manju Jetley,AOR For Respondent(s) &nbsp;Mr. V.N. Raghupathy,AOR &nbsp; Mr. Suryanarayana Singh,AAG Mr. Aviral Saxena,Adv. Ms. Pragati Neekhra,AOR &nbsp; Dr. Manish Singhvi,Adv. Mr. Irshad Ahmad,Adv. &nbsp; Mr. V.G. Pragasam,AOR &nbsp; Mr. Manjit Singh,AAG, Haryana Mrs. Vivekta Singh,Adv. Mrs. Nupur Chaudhary,Adv. Mr. Tarjit Singh,Adv. Mr. Kamal Mohan Gupta,AOR &nbsp; 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 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Mr. Mishra Saurabh,AOR Ms. Vanshaja Shukla,Adv. &nbsp; M/s. Corporate Law Group,AOR Mrs. Kirti Renu Mishra,AOR M/s. Arputham,Aruna &amp; Co.,AOR Mr. Anil Shrivastav,AOR Ms. Asha Gopalan Nair,AOR Mr. B. Balaji,AOR &nbsp; Mr. Sapam Biswajit Meitei,Adv. Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh,AOR &nbsp; Mrs. K. Enatoli Sema,Adv. Mr. Amit Kumar Singh,Adv. &nbsp; 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. &nbsp; Ms. A. Subhashini,Adv. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Hon&#39;ble Mr. Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Hon&#39;ble Mr. Justice A.K. Sikri pronounced concurring views in the judgment of the Bench comprising their Lordships. The &nbsp;writ &nbsp;petitions &nbsp;are &nbsp;allowed &nbsp;in &nbsp; terms of the signed judgment. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (Narendra Prasad) Court Master &nbsp; (Renuka Sadana) Court Master &nbsp; &nbsp; (Signed &quot;Reportable&quot; judgment is placed on the file)

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