PIL Seeking Equal Employment Opportunities For Transgenders: Supreme Court Directs To Implead Transgender Associations

Supreme Court has on Friday, while hearing plea seeking equal opportunities in employment to transgenders, directed the petitioner to implead transgender associations within 2 weeks.

A division Bench of CJI SA Bobde and Justice Bopanna issued the direction while hearing a public interest petition filed seeking direction to the Center to give equal opportunity in employment to transgender and implement all measures to ensure non-discrimination against any transgender person in any matter relating to employment and related issue.

The plea, filed by Advocate Reepak Kansal also seeks directions to the Centre to give the Transgender/Other-Gender/Third-Gender an equal opportunity for participating in the examination for recruitment to the Post of Intelligence Bureau Assistant Central Intelligence Officer (IB ACIO) Grade II/ Executive .

During the hearing, the Court directed the petitioner to file an application and implead the transgender association in 2 weeks.

The present petitioner is aggrieved by the impugned government notification dated 18th December 2020 issued for conducting "Assistant Central Intelligence Officer-Grade II/ Executive examination" for filling up 2000 vacancies for the post of Intelligence Bureau Assistant Central Intelligence Officer (IB ACIO) Grade II/ Executive, inviting applications from Indian Nationals for direct recruitment from male and female. The petitioner has argued that this is violative of fundamental rights as well as human rights of transgender .

According to the petitioner, the impugned notification contravenes the Office Memorandum dated 20th April 2020 issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions regarding inclusion of "Third Gender / any Other Category" in the application forms in recruitment to various posts under the Central Government. Therefore, the impugned notification is also in clear violation of Section 3 and Section 9 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 .

The plea has further cited Supreme Court's judgement in the case of Re: NALSA v. Union of India (2014) where Court had recognised the employment, educational and other fundamental rights of the 'third gender' and the impugned notification is in clear violation of the Supreme Court's directions