Overview
- A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices Monday to the Union, states and Union territories, seeking responses within six weeks before a three-judge bench hears the case.
- Petitioners including Laxmi Narayan Tripathi and Zainab Patel say the amendment strips the statutory right to self-identify, narrows who counts as a transgender person, and requires a district magistrate’s certificate based on a medical board, violating Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 and the 2014 NALSA ruling.
- The judges asked whether unchecked self-identification could be misused to claim benefits, indicating the court will test the law on constitutional grounds rather than treat NALSA as conclusive.
- Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said the penal changes target forced procedures such as coerced castration and do not bar voluntary care, and the bench declined interim orders because the amendment is not yet in force.
- The law cleared Parliament in March and received presidential assent on March 30, with similar challenges filed in several High Courts and activists reporting disrupted hormone therapy even before notification.