Madras HC extends special reservation to trans people in nursing diploma courses
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Chennai: The Madras High Court has ordered the state government to do needful to make sure transgender persons are provided special reservation for admission to Post Basic (Nursing) and Post Basic Diploma in Psychiatry Nursing courses.
Ruling that transgender persons are entitled to special reservation for the said course, the High Court directed the Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department, Director of Medical Education, Chennai, and Secretary (Selection Committee), Directorate of Medical Education, to prepare a separate category of merit list consisting only of transgender candidates, based on the order of merit.
The Court ruled this while hearing a plea by a transgender, S Tamilselvi, who moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the authorities to quash the prospectus issued for the Post Basic (Nursing) course and Post Basic Diploma in Psychiatry Nursing course for 2022-2023, citing that it was illegal to not categorise transgender persons under a special category.
The present merit list for the course, as issued by the Selection Committee Secretary, only consists of cisgender candidates.
"If more than one candidate is available based on the inter se merit, admission shall be given to those transgender candidates. The needful, as indicated above, shall be immediately undertaken by the Secretary, Selection Committee, and accordingly, the selection shall go on including the name of the petitioner under the special category i.e. transgender category," Justice R Suresh Kumar said.
She also sought direction from the court to the Secretary, Selection Committee, to admit her to the Post Basic BSc (Nursing) course for 2022-2023 under the special category as a transgender person. "Though community reservation was provided for the said courses, there were no separate reservations provided horizontally for transgender persons. Hence, she approached the court," said her counsel Reshmi Christy.
Citing the Supreme Court's set of directions to the Union and state governments on the action to be taken to treat transgender persons as a special category, Justice Suresh Kumar observed, "Had the special reservation provided to transgender persons been implemented as directed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, certainly the petitioner would have been in a top position and would be in a position to get admission in the course concerned."
"Even though special reservation has not been made horizontally for transgender candidates, the non-inclusion of the petitioner in the special category meant for transgender persons is against the judgments given by the Hon'ble Supreme Court as well as this court, and also against the provisions of the 2019 Act," he added.