The Union government’s Bill to remove transgender people’s right to a self-perceived gender identity and redefine a “transgender person” has been listed for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha on Tuesday (March 24, 2026).
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Union government’s Bill to remove transgender people’s right to a self-perceived gender identity and redefine a “transgender person” has been listed for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha on Tuesday (March 24, 2026).
The Bill introduced earlier this month to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, proposes amendments in relation to identifying transgender individuals, the procedure for obtaining a transgender certificate, and compliance requirements for medical institutions that may perform gender-affirming care procedures.
Introduced by Social Justice Minister Virendra Kumar, the Bill was met with opposition and protests from across transgender communities throughout the country, many of whom have come together for protests, public meetings, and campaigns to write to public representatives over the last week. Community representative members of the government’s National Council for Transgender Persons have said the body was not consulted about the amendments.
Last week, in a meeting called by officials of the Social Justice Ministry, the Minister was absent, citing a “personal emergency”, and officials of the Ministry told representatives of the NCTP that the government did not believe there was a need to consult anyone for these amendments, citing “non-genuine transgender persons” as one of the reasons for limiting the definition.
In the Revised List of Business notified on the Lok Sabha’s website for March 24 (Tuesday), the government has proposed to move the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, for consideration and passing in the lower House.
In the Bill, the government said the “existing vague definition” of transgender persons had made it “impossible to identify the genuine oppressed persons to whom the benefits of the Act are intended to reach”. It added the purpose of the law was never to protect “persons with various gender identities, self-perceived sex/gender identities or gender fluidities”. It said the policy “was and is” to protect “only those who face severe social exclusion due to biological reasons for no fault of their own and no choice of their own.”
The Bill also introduced the terminology of an “authority”, which would be a medical board constituted by the government. This “authority” is also meant to make a recommendation to the District Magistrate for the issuance of a transgender certificate. The Bill also proposes to give DMs the discretion to decide if the transgender certificate is “necessary or desirable”. It also mandates medical institutions conducting gender-affirming procedures to share their details with district administrations.
Published – March 24, 2026 01:02 am IST
