On Monday, the Apex Court initiated inquiries from the Central government and the states of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat regarding a petition filed by a transgender woman. She accuses two private schools in these states of terminating her employment upon the disclosure of her gender identity.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, acknowledged the petition of Jane Kaushik, a 31-year-old, who claims she was dismissed by a private school in Lakhimpur Kheri, UP, in December 2022, and was subsequently barred from joining another school in Gujarat in July 2023 due to her open acknowledgment of her gender identity.

The plea, presented by advocate Yashraj Singh Deora, challenges Kaushik's termination, highlighting the structural discrimination and harassment she faced based on her gender identity. Describing the actions of the schools as a violation of her fundamental right to equality and against gender-based discrimination, Kaushik's plea calls for her reinstatement and the formulation of proper guidelines by the Union government to prevent similar challenges faced by transgender individuals.

A resident of Delhi, Kaushik also points to the inadequacies in implementing the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, alleging a lack of commitment from both the Centre and states to ensure the rights of transgender persons are upheld.

Following her dismissal from the UP school, a district-level panel, appointed by the National Commission for Women (NCW) Delhi, was established to investigate the reasons behind Kaushik's termination. However, the NCW panel, in a January 2023 report, cleared the school of any wrongdoing, branding Kaushik's allegations as baseless. Kaushik contests the NCW report in the Supreme Court.

Kaushik has also filed a petition in the Delhi High Court advocating for horizontal reservation for the transgender community, allowing them to benefit from reservations based on both caste and gender, a case currently awaiting a decision in the high court.

The text also touches upon the broader context of transgender rights in India, mentioning the NALSA judgment of 2014 that recognized the rights of transgender individuals. However, it notes conflicting perspectives in a separate case where the Centre contends that transgender persons can only access quota benefits within existing categories of reservation.

Furthermore, the text references the drafting of the transgender rights bill in 2016, responding to the 2014 Supreme Court judgment. The bill faced criticism for its definitions, focus on medical screening, and the criminalization of traditional occupations. Despite modifications, the final draft, passed by Parliament in November 2019, did not include quota benefits for the transgender community. This led to a contempt notice issued by the Supreme Court in March 2023, prompting the Centre to file an affidavit in July, defending its position on reservation benefits for transgender individuals.