The issue of reservation for transgender persons has taken center stage as the Centre responds to a contempt petition in the Supreme Court, alleging non-compliance with the landmark 2014 judgment in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India. The 2014 ruling recognized gender identities beyond the male-female binary and granted legal recognition and protection to the 'third gender,' directing the government to devise mechanisms for the realization of their rights, including extending affirmative action benefits.
Members of the transgender community recently approached the Supreme Court through a contempt petition, highlighting the absence of a reservation policy for transgender persons. The lack of affirmative action, they argued, significantly impacted their livelihood and education, making it difficult for them to obtain employment due to social stigma.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment filed an affidavit in response to the petition, stating that the government has taken necessary steps to implement the court's directions in NALSA, including enacting the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and launching a national portal for transgender certificates and identity cards. However, the affidavit revealed that transgender persons can only avail themselves of reservation benefits if they fall within the existing categories of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, or Economically Weaker Sections.
This response has sparked discussions on the need for a separate federal policy for reservations for transgender persons in public education and employment. The 2014 judgment explicitly directed the Centre and State governments to treat transgender persons as socially and educationally backward classes and extend all kinds of reservations for them in educational institutions and public appointments.
Trans activist Grace Banu had previously raised concerns about clubbing all transgender persons into the same category, i.e., in the OBC reservation pool, urging the Supreme Court to clarify that it had directed the adoption of horizontal reservation. However, the court had expressed disinclination to entertain such an application, asserting that the matter had already been disposed of.
The contempt petition has been filed by Advocate Reepak Kansal through Advocate-on-Record Pravir Chowdhury and is scheduled for its next hearing on August 18. The outcome of the hearing is awaited with anticipation as it will have significant implications for the affirmative action and empowerment of the transgender community in India.
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