Delhi HC Says Insisting Transgender People To Undergo A Sex Change Surgery To Get A Passport Is Violation Of Article 21
Did you know that as per the current rules, a transgender person requires a certificate of gender reassignment surgery as proof in order to get a passport? Yes, so if a trans person wants a passport they have to undergo surgery and provide proof of the same in order to get a passport. This happens in spite of the NALSA vs Union Of India judgement passed by the Supreme Court in 2014 which not only recognises transgender as a gender but also grants transgender persons the right to decide their self-identified gender. This rule is also violative of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution which grants Indian citizens the right to protection of life and personal liberty. In a recent case, the Delhi High Court observed that trans people have the right to state their gender without having to provide any proof or validation.
While hearing a petition challenging the Passport Rules 1980 that make it mandatory for transgender people to provide a gender re-assignment surgery certificate to recognise them as male or female on the passport, the Delhi High Court said that the rule is violative of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and also goes against the NALSA vs Union of India judgement. According to LiveLaw, the Bench led by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi said that one cannot insist that someone undergo a sex-change surgery just for the purpose of obtaining a passport. The court further suggested that such people can be identified as transgender and then under a subclassification of trans man or trans woman depending on the person’s orientation and their self-identified gender. “Where is the question of insistence on surgery? One person does not want to undergo surgery but identifies himself or herself as a male or female,” said the court.
The Delhi High Court bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla further observed that the NALSA judgement gives transgender people the right to self-identify their gender. The petition was filed by a trans woman Lasya Kahli Singh who challenged the rule after she was unable to procure a passport when she tried to change her name and gender from male to female in 2019. The petitioner was able to procure a PAN card, voter id and Aadhaar card but not a passport as she did not have a sex change certificate.
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As of now, the court has asked the concerned authority of the Union government to take the instruction in this regard in a week. The next hearing of the matter has been scheduled for April 22.
