The division judge bench of Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy of the Patna High Court in the case of Reshma Prasad Vs State of Bihar held that transgender is not a caste identity and every individual, including those not conforming to the male/female gender classification, should be permitted self-determination.
Brief Facts:
The caste survey was conducted by the State Government of Bihar and the transgender was included under the category of caste. The present writ petition is filed on the ground that the inclusion of transgender under the category of caste is violative of Articles 14, 15, 16, and 21 of the Constitution of India.
Observations of the Court:
The Hon’ble court observed that every person, including those who do not satisfy the definition of male or female gender, should be permitted self-determination. Transgender identity is not a caste identity.
Furthermore, a mistake has been made insofar as the group of "transgenders" is included in the caste enumeration. Separate identification of the community and an investigation into their collective socio-economic and educational status could only result in welfare measures and the community being targeted for upliftment after such collective social, economic, and educational status has been verified. The goal is not to provide benefits based on caste, but rather to identify communities by using caste as a proxy for a larger group of people who would benefit from social, economic, and educational upliftment in order to achieve equality of status and decent living conditions in society.
The decision of the Court:
With the above observations, the court disposed of the petition.
Case Title: Reshma Prasad Vs State of Bihar
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Partha Sarthy
Case No.: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.6505 of 2023
Advocate for the Petitioner: Ms. Sachina, Advocate
Advocate for the Respondent: Mr. P.K. Shahi ( AG )
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