A Division Bench of the Madras High Court comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy was informed by the learned Advocate General that the State has agreed to extend financial relief to all the members of the Transgender community irrespective of their having a registration card or not. (Grace Banu v. State of Tamil Nadu)
Factual Background
The Petitioner belonged to the transgender community. He represented the whole Transgender community and he brought it to the notice of the Court that most of the members of his community in the State of Tamil Nadu were without a Ration card and as a result of which they were facing difficulty in getting ration from the Government shops.
Therefore, the petitioner filed PIL under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of a Writ of Mandamus directing the Respondents.
Court Reasoning & Judgment
The Petitioner has filed a memorandum seeking extension of the COVID cash relief to all transgender persons irrespective of such persons possessing any valid registration or identification documents. The learned Advocate General informed the Court that the State has decided to extend the benefit to all transgender persons irrespective of whether they possess the registration cards. A told 2956 transgenders were provided with the first lot of cash relief and there about 8493 transgender persons are entitled to receive the same benefit.
The AG further stated that,
"the State may not insist on strict registration documents or identity proof, the grant should not be abused and some form of recording the name and address of the beneficiary should be followed."
The Court showed its satisfaction and expressed that,
“Since the State has agreed to extend the benefit to all transgenders in the State irrespective of whether they are registered or not, an appropriate modality should be worked by which the transgenders receive the benefit and yet, the system is not misused.”
The Bench listed the matter on 09.07.2021 for the next hearing to enquire whether any genuine beneficiary from the transgender community has been left out or not.
Case Details
Case:- W.P.No.12035 of 2021
Petitioner:- Grace Banu
Respondent:- State of Tamil Nadu & Ors.
Counsel for Petitioner:- Ms.Jayna Kothari
Counsel for Respondent:- Mr.R.Shunmugasundaram
Judge: Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy
Read Order@LatestLaws.com
Share this Document :Picture Source :
