Transgender is permitted to have a right to self-perceived gender identity: Bombay HC

The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court quashed an order rejecting the nomination of a transgender candidate on the basis that transgender people had the right to self-determination of gender identity.

The court also noted that the returning officer who rejected the petition did so out of ignorance of the law. The petition was rejected on the grounds that the petitioner, Anjali Guri Sanjana Jaan, was transgender and that there was a women-general category only.

Quoting the judgment delivered by the Honourable Supreme Court in the matter of National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India and others, the court noted that gender identity was a fundamental part of the right to live with dignity and that transgender people deserved the protection of the law and equal representation in public and social spheres.

"By recognizing TGs as the third gender, this Court is not only upholding the rule of law but also advancing justice to the class, so far deprived of their legitimate natural and constitutional rights," the court order reads.