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Transgender rights in India: NALSA, the 2019 Act and its 2026 amendment

By CAShorts DeskPublished Sources: Gazette of India; PRS Legislative Research; PIB (Social Justice Ministry); NALSA judgment, 2014; LawBeat; Tribune/PTI; Telangana Today

Transgender rights in India: NALSA, the 2019 Act and its 2026 amendment
Illustration (AI-generated)

The Supreme Court's NALSA judgment of 2014 recognised transgender persons as a third gender with a right to self-identify, and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 put it into law. A 2026 amendment, in force since 25 May 2026, narrowed the definition and dropped self-perceived identity; challenges to it await the Supreme Court.

Syllabus: GS2 · Constitution; Prelims · Polity & Governance; GS1 · Social Empowerment & Secularism

Why this matters for UPSC

GS2 polity and social justice: Prelims can ask what NALSA held, what the 2019 Act and the National Council for Transgender Persons provide and which ministry runs SMILE; Mains, whether the 2026 amendment respects Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21.

In short

Transgender rights in India rest on the NALSA judgment's recognition of a third gender and self-identification, given statutory form by the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

Pillars of transgenderrightsThird genderrecognitionIdentitycertificateBar ondiscriminationNational CouncilSMILE scheme

Transgender law must prevent coercion and fraud without making dignity depend on a medical board; the Supreme Court's ruling will set that balance.

Why it matters

Think of a trans woman who never had surgery and got her identity certificate in 2023. Under the 2019 law her own sense of her gender was enough. The amended law speaks of listed communities, intersex conditions and a medical board, so she may worry that her certificate, passport or job record could be questioned. Petitioners also say some people have found doctors stopping hormone therapy. The Centre argues that a vague definition let benefits go to those not in real need and that coercion needed harsher punishment. The larger question is who decides a person's gender: the person, a doctor or the State.

Prelims pointers

  • Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019: Act No. 40 of 2019, assented on 5 December 2019, in force from 10 January 2020.
  • National Council for Transgender Persons (section 16): Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment is Chairperson; the Minister of State is Vice-Chairperson.
  • The Council includes representatives of the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Women; non-official members serve three years.
  • Section 12 of the 2019 Act: no transgender child may be separated from parents except by a competent court's order in the child's interest.
  • Section 15 of the 2019 Act: governments must set up separate HIV sero-surveillance centres for transgender persons under National AIDS Control Organisation guidelines.
  • SMILE: launched on 12 February 2022 with ₹365 crore allocated for 2021-22 to 2025-26, and pilot projects in ten cities, per the Social Justice Ministry.
  • Census 2011 counted 4.87 lakh persons who chose 'other' as their gender, the figure the government uses for the non-binary population.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to the NALSA judgment of 2014, consider the following statements:

1. The Supreme Court recognised transgender persons as a 'third gender' in this judgment.

2. The case was filed by the National Human Rights Commission as the petitioner.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2
  4. (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer

Answer: (a) 1 only

Answer: (a) 1 only. The Court recognised a third gender; the petitioner was the National Legal Services Authority.

Statement 1: correct. In National Legal Services Authority v Union of India (15 April 2014) the Supreme Court recognised transgender persons as a third gender.

Statement 2: incorrect. NALSA stands for the National Legal Services Authority, which filed Writ Petition (Civil) No. 400 of 2012, not the National Human Rights Commission.

Eliminate: Statement 2 names the wrong body, so it is incorrect. Out: (b), (c).

Eliminate: Statement 1 is the judgment's central holding, so it is correct. Out: (d).

Trap: Swapped attribution. The acronym NALSA is pinned on another rights body that a student may link with human rights cases.

Remember: NALSA = National Legal Services Authority; its 2014 case recognised the third gender.

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