‘Trans rights being pushed back by a decade’: Community members oppose proposed transgender law changes

Proposed amendments to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 could push transgender rights in India back by nearly a decade by diluting the principle of gender self-identification as recognised by the Supreme Court in the landmark National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, activists have warned.

The amendment, recently introduced in Parliament, proposes changes to how transgender identity is defined and recognised under the law. According to the proposal, recognition of transgender identity may require verification through official procedures, including possible medical scrutiny, before authorities issue a certificate of identity. Activists argue that this shift towards medical or administrative verification undermines the principle of self-determination laid down by the Supreme Court in the NALSA judgment.