Female Transgenders Can't Be Put Through Rigours For Male Candidates: Gauhati High Court Suggests To State For Reservation Policy
Dealing with a PIL challenging an allegedly discriminatory police recruitment advertisement where seats allocated to transgender persons were clubbed with male candidates, the Gauhati High Court has suggested that female transgenders cannot be put through the same rigours as the male candidates.The impugned advertisement was published by the Police Department for recruitment of...
Dealing with a PIL challenging an allegedly discriminatory police recruitment advertisement where seats allocated to transgender persons were clubbed with male candidates, the Gauhati High Court has suggested that female transgenders cannot be put through the same rigours as the male candidates.
The impugned advertisement was published by the Police Department for recruitment of transgender persons as Sub-Inspectors and Constables. It was challenged on the grounds that despite provision for recruitment of transgender persons, the recruitment process clubbed seats of transgender persons and male candidates together, and thus compelled female transgenders to undergo the rigours of male candidates. As a result not a single transgender person had applied against the said advertisement.
The PIL thus sought some allocation of seats for transgender persons and further that within such allocation, it be open for candidates to apply as male transgender or female transgender person so as to be subjected to the same rigour as a binary male and female in the recruitment process.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury was informed by the State's counsel that a proposal to recognise the transgender community as a Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC), has been placed before the State Cabinet for approval, and upon approval being granted, transgender persons shall receive "reservation" in education and employment "as per the norms".
The bench said,
"Once the proposal receives the assent of the State Cabinet, it would be the bounden duty of the recruiting bodies to allocate special number of seats. While doing so, special care would be required to be taken with respect to the kind of rigors that the members of transgenders would be subjected to. It would only be appropriate, which we say by way of suggestion, that male transgender would be subjected to the rigors like male candidates and female transgenders be subjected to the rigors of the female candidates".
Referring to Supreme Court's 2018 Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. v/s Union of India judgment as well as the 2014 NALSA judgment the Court said:
"The Government is obligated to initiate welfare measures of persons of transgender community. Steps have to be taken to secure full and effective participation of transgender persons for their inclusion in society and access to their employment...There is no doubt that there is, today, the recognition of the gender identity of the transgenders which lies at the heart of the fundamental right to dignity but special measures are still lacking for providing them the access to employment. It is only then that the transgenders can also be included in the mainstream of the society".
The Court thus directed the State and the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment to apprise the Court with respect to the future course of action, especially with respect to the status of male and female transgender persons and steps taken to make an inclusive recruitment process in future for transgender persons. It further asked the State to inform on the status of the proposal submitted before the cabinet for approval.
The matter is now listed on 11.02.2026.
Case Title: ALL ASSAM TRANSGENDER ASSOCIATION v. THE STATE OF ASSAM and Ors
PIL/6/2022