Uttarakhand HC directs state govt to provide reservation to transgenders in educational institutions, public appointments

Dehradun, September 29: Noting that there should be no discrimination against transgenders in employment or occupation, the Uttarakhand high court on Friday asked the state government to provide reservation in government jobs to the community.

 

Acting chief justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Manoj Tiwari, while hearing a petition filed by a transgender named Rajni Rawat and others seeking “protection to life and security”, said the court can take judicial notice of the fact that the life of transgenders is miserable.

In continuation of the directions issued by the apex court to the Centre and state governments in the National Legal Services Authority v/s Union of India case in 2014, the division bench of the high court asked the state to frame a policy in six months and ensure reservation for transgenders in educational institutions and government jobs.

The court also stressed on providing accommodation, besides “scholarships up to the post-graduate level and financial assistance to the parents (of transgenders)”. In a bid to ensure their participation in the mainstream, the court directed district magistrates to register transgenders and frame a law to ensure they are not separated from their parents.

In 2014, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) had also recommended the inclusion of transgenders in the central list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

According to the 2011 Census, India has six lakh people belonging to the transgender community.

The community is among the most backward in the country because they do not fit into the categories of the two recognised genders of men and women. They face issues ranging from social exclusion and discrimination to lack of educational and medical facilities, and unemployment.