Delhi High Court Says : Insisting A Transgender Person To Produce A Gender Re-Assignment Certificate For Passport Prima Facie Violates Article 21
Delhi High Court Says : Insisting A Transgender Person To Produce A Gender Re-Assignment Certificate For Passport Prima Facie Violates Article 21
On 11th April, 2022 (Monday) the Delhi High Court opined that passport rules in the context of the requirement of a transgender to produce the certificate of gender reassignment surgery was violated of apex courts judgment in Nalsa Vs Union of India and also violates Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
The bench headed by acting Chief Vipin Sanghi further observed that the respondent can’t insist upon a person to have a sex change operation to get a passport.
The court also said that a person can be classified as a transgender person and then further sub-classified into Trans male or Trans female but there cannot be an insistence on surgery if a male or female identifies as a transgender.
While referring to the Nalsa judgment the court remarked that a person has a right to decide their self-identified gender. The court made these observations while dealing with a PIL that assailed the Passport Rules of 1980 that required a gender reassignment certificate to reissue a passport recognizing a person as male or female.
In this case, the court has directed the concerned authority to get instructions and posted the case to 22nd April, 2022 for further hearing.
