KEY FACTS: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) publishes an annual Prison Statistics India (PSI) report in which the composition of the prisoners is released. One of these categories is that of gender which only classifies on the heteronormative male/female basis. The Petitioner, Karan Tripathi, approached the Delhi High Court to include a third category […]
CHINMAYEE JENA VS STATE OF ODISHA & OTHERS
KEY FACTS: The petition concerns Sonu Krishna Jena (the name assigned at birth – Chinmayee Jena), a transman who had been in a consensual relationship with his romantic partner Rashmi (original name withheld) since 2017 and chose to be in a live-in relationship together at their apartment in Bhubaneshwar. On 9th April 2020, Rashmi’s mother […]
JEEVA M. VS. STATE OF KARNATAKA, DEPARTMENT OF PRE-UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
KEY FACTS: The Petitioner was a transgender person who wanted to change his name and gender from female to male in his educational certificates, specifically his SSLC and Pre-University certificate. He had made representations to the Respondents requesting them to change his name and gender in his educational certificates but the Respondents refused to take […]
QUEERALA & ANOTHER VS. STATE OF KERALA & OTHERS
KEY FACTS The government of Kerala passed an order in March 2018 granting special sanction to include the option “transgender” for identification in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC). However, the option was only available to transgender persons if they had undergone sex-reassignment surgery (SRS). Queerala, an LGBTIQ rights organisation in Kerala, and Zara Sheikha, a […]
GALABADA PAYALAGE SANATH WIMALASIRI VS. OFFICER-IN-CHARGE, POLICE STATION, MARADANA
KEY FACTS: A person accused two people of engaging in an “indecent act” under Section 365A of the Sri Lankan Penal code. He had witnessed the two persons engaged in oral sex in a car in a public place. Wimalasiri, one of the accused, is a police officer. The police arrested him and brought him […]
DR. MUHAMMAD ASLAM KHAKI VS. S.S.P, RAWALPINDI
KEY FACTS: Dr Mohammad Aslam Khaki, an Islamic scholar, filed a case on behalf of the transgender community. Khaki argued for legal recognition and equal treatment of transgender persons, under the Constitution of Pakistan. ISSUES: The Constitution of Pakistan recognises the right to equal treatment of all citizens. It allows public authorities to make provisions […]
SUNIL BABU PANT VS. NEPAL GOVERNMENT
KEY FACTS: Representatives of the LGBTI community filed a case against the Government of Nepal for excluding gender and sexual minorities. They claimed that gender minorities lacked access to public benefits because they could not obtain citizenship cards on the basis of non-binary gender identity. They argued for legal recognition of LGBTI persons. ISSUES: The […]
NAVTEJ SINGH JOHAR VS. UNION OF INDIA
KEY FACTS: Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) criminalised consensual sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex for being “against the order of nature”. In 2009, before the Delhi High Court, the Naz Foundation (India) Trust (“Naz”) challenged the constitutionality of Section 377 for violating Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. The court ruled that punishing […]
S. SWAPNA VS. STATE OF TAMIL NADU
KEY FACTS: Swapna, a transgender woman applied for fresh SSLC and HSC certificates indicating her new name and gender identity. The Joint Director of School Examination (JDSE), Tamil Nadu refused to provide them to her. The JDSE stated that the current rules do not allow such name and sex changes. She had submitted her medical […]
POOJITHA B.P. VS. KARNATAKA SECONDARY EDUCATION EXAMINATION BOARD
KEY FACTS: Poojitha is a transgender woman who wanted to change her name and gender in her educational record. She had obtained fresh identity documents, such as an Aadhar card and a passport, indicating her name and gender after undergoing sex-reassignment surgery. Even after 3 months, the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (hereafter: the “Board”) […]
SHRI VINOD H.N VS. STATE OF KARNATAKA
KEY FACTS: Vinod H.N., the petitioner was born intersex. In his birth documents, this was listed as a medical condition called “severe perianal hypospadasis(intersex variation). Vinod identified as male and wanted to change his name to Vinod H.N. in all important documents. He filed a writ petition before High Court seeking a name change. He […]
NATIONAL LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY (NALSA) VS. UNION OF INDIA
KEY FACTS: This case was filed by the National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA) to legally recognize persons who fall outside the male/female gender binary, including persons who identify as “third gender”. ISSUES & DECISION: The Court had to decide whether persons who fall outside the male/female gender binary can be legally recognised as […]
CHANCHAL BHATTACHARYA VS. STATE OF WEST BENGAL
KEY FACTS: Tamal identified as male but had been assigned female at birth. He had struggled with gender dysphoria and, on the basis of multiple medical consultations, had decided to undergo sex-reassignment surgery. Tamal declared his name change before a magistrate after the surgery. His father then applied for new educational certificates which would reflect the change in […]
K. GOWTHAM SUBRAMANIYAM VS. CONTROLLER OF EXAMINATION, ANNA UNIVERSITY
KEY FACTS: Gowtham was assigned female at birth. His educational certificates reflected the name and gender as assigned at birth. After graduating from Anna University in Tamil Nadu, Gowtham underwent sex-reassignment surgery. Consequently, he changed his identity in identity documents. He then approached Anna University to have his name and gender changed on his educational […]