Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court, in a significant pronouncement on transgender rights, has awarded compensation to a transwoman whose services as a teacher were terminated by two private schools, one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Gujarat, within a year, on the ground of her gender identity.

The Court also constituted a Committee to be headed by Justice Asha Menon, retired judge of the Delhi High Court, to formulate an equal opportunity policy for the protection of the rights of transgender persons.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan pronounced the judgment in a writ petition filed by Jane Kaushik, who was dismissed from service on account of her transgender identity.

"We have formulated guidelines till the Government comes out with a policy document. If any establishment does not have guidelines, we have prescribed that you will follow these guidelines till the Union comes out with policy.," Justice Pardiwala said.

"We have also awarded compensation for the way she was handled, and her services were terminated. We have taken serious cognisance of that," Justice Pardiwala added.

The other members of the Committee will be Akai Padmashali, Karnataka-based transrights activist; Grace Banu, Dalit rights and trans rights activist; Vyjayanthi Vasanta Mogli, Telangana-based trans rights activist; Gaurav Mandal, Associate Professor at Jindal Global University; Nithya Rajshekhar, Senior Associate at Centre for Law & Policy, Bengaluru; and Dr Sanjay Sharma, retired Chief Executive Officer of Association for Transgender Health in India.

Ex officio members will be the Secretary of Social Justice and Empowerment, Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Secretary of the Ministry of Education.

The remit of the Committee

1. Formulation of equal opportunity policy

2. Study of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 Act and 2020 Rules

3. Reasonable Accommodation

4. Grievance redressal mechanism

5. Gender and name change sex

6. Inclusive medical care for transgender and gender diverse persons

7. Protection for gender non-conforming and gender diverse persons

After the pronouncement of the judgment, Justice Pardiwala hoped that these guidelines can go a long way for securing the rights of transgender persons in India.

In the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India &Ors(2014), a bench of Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Jusyice AK Sikri legally recognised the third gender. It was observed that the non-existence of law recognizing transgender as a third gender could not be continued as a ground to discriminate against them in availing equal opportunities in education and employment. Thereafter, in 2019, Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act was implemented.

Case Details: JANE KAUSHIK v UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 1405/2023

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