The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre, States and union territories to respond on a petition seeking reservation for transgender persons in education and employment.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud 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 petition was filed by Subi, a transgender person from Kerala, represented by advocates Kaleeswaram Raj and Thulasi K Raj.
The petition highlighted in court a report by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), indicating that insufficient training and employment skill programmes for transgender individuals had resulted in a significant lack of employment opportunities for this marginalised group.
The plea said that while the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 granted various rights to transgender individuals, it did not offer reservation in education or employment.
