Treat transgenders as special category for employment, education: Madras HC

Chennai: Holding that the transgenders should be treated only as a special category irrespective of their caste, the Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to not bring them under either female or male category for education and employment.

Justice V Bhavani Subbaroyan in an order passed on June 12, 2024 said in 'every employment and educational avenues,' the government shall prescribe separate norms for transgenders.

The government shall direct all the state recruiting agencies to specify transgender as a special category and prescribe separate norms for their cut-off mark.

The age relaxation open to other special categories shall also be extended to transgenders, irrespective of their caste, in future employment and educational avenues.

The transgender at no point of time in future shall be brought under male or female categories, the judge made it clear.

Allowing a petition from R Anushri, a transgender who was denied the opportunity from being considered for combined civil service examination for the year 2017-18 which were for non-interview post group-II A services under various categories, the judge said since the petitioner has scored the eligible cut-off mark the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission shall permit the petitioner to upload documents for certificate verification.

The judge said the petitioner has been placed in the scheduled caste woman category and denied permission by Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) to upload her certificate for verification as she had scored less than the cut-off prescribed for scheduled caste women.

TNPSC's approach is unsustainable and it had not categorised transgenders as a special category. Also, bringing the petitioner under woman category went against the order passed by the Supreme Court and Madras High court, the judge added.

The Apex Court has clearly said that the transgenders should be treated as unique and they should not be treated as one among the male or female. In fact, when Punjab had placed all the transgenders under male category, the top court had held such action as illegal and unsustainable.

It was also to be noted that the transgenders were placed in the caste in which they were born and treated in the said category. This was of no use and detrimental to their development, the judge added.

In her order, the judge said though the National Legal Service Authority case was decided by the Supreme Court as early as April 15, 2014, still, neither the state government, nor the central government has come forward to 'formulate a uniform mode of employment opportunities' to be provided for the transgenders.