Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea Seeking Ban On Medically Unnecessary Sex-Selective Surgeries On Intersex Infants, Children

A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice notice to the Respondents- Delhi Government and Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), asking them to respond by October 11.

The plea filed by Srishti Madurai Educational Research Foundation, an independent Trust, seeks guidelines specifying the conditions when medical surgery on intersex infants and children can be performed. Advocate Robin Raju appeared for the Petitioner.

At the outset, the plea avers that intersex traits are often wrongly identified as Transgender or third gender. It states,

"Intersex people are born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit the typical definitions of female or male. Transgender or transsexual people, on the other hand, are born with typical male or female anatomies but feel they are born into the wrong gender."

The Petitioner relies on the judgment in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India where the Supreme Court had opined that no one shall be forced to undergo medical procedures as a requirement for legal recognition of their gender identity. In this background, the petition avers:

".. the issue of sex-selective surgeries or medically unnecessary normalizing surgeries has a long lasting drastic psychological impact on the minds of intersex people and deters them from even seeking medical attention in future. This aspect is proved by recent news reports that examine the reasons behind reluctance to seek medical help despite having symptoms of Covid-19 among a significant number of intersex people."

It seeks implementation of an opinion rendered by DCPCR on 13 January 2021, stating that the Delhi Government should declare a ban on these sex selective surgeries. This opinion was based on the response of the Delhi Medical Council, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of NCT of Delhi and Department of Social Welfare, Govt. of NCT of Delhi.

Case Title: Srishti Madurai Educational Research Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Ors.