A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud as well as Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice on the plea that asserted that transgender persons are entitled to reservation under Article 16 of the Indian Constitution.
The Supreme Court on Friday sought the responses of the Central government and all States and Union Territories on a plea seeking reservation for transgender persons in education and employment [Subi KV vs Union of India and Ors.].
A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud as well as Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice on the plea that asserted that transgender persons are entitled to reservation under Article 16 (Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment) of the Constitution.
The plea filed by Subi KC, a transgender person from Kerala, drew the Court’s attention to a report by the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
This report indicated that insufficient training and employment skill programs for transgender individuals have resulted in a significant lack of employment opportunities for this marginalized group.
The petition highlighted that while the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 has granted various rights to transgender individuals, it does not offer reservations in education or employment.
Moreover, the petition pointed out that multiple writ petitions have been filed in High Courts to implement reservations in public employment as requested by the petitioners. However, no concrete steps have been taken so far to ensure such reservations for transgender individuals.
Additionally, the plea mentioned that numerous studies and reports demonstrate that the transgender community is socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged. Therefore, their dire circumstances need urgent addressal through the enactment and implementation of provisions for reservations, it said.
Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/supreme-court-issues-notice-plea-reservation-transgender-persons
