High Court directs Delhi government to recognise status of third gender, provide free travel

New Delhi, 20 October 2022: The Delhi High Court has ordered Delhi government to decide within four months whether to provide the transgender community legal status as the third gender for the purpose of riding Delhi Transport Corporation buses.

The transgender community member who filed the public interest lawsuit asking for the printing of the phrases “third gender” on bus tickets and free transportation for transgender people on DTC buses received the court’s decision.

The petition claimed that because the transgender population has not been recognized as the third gender, the petitioner, who rides frequently on buses run by the DTC, experiences “horror and suffering” when buying a ticket.

The argument made in the request was that since transgender persons have the freedom to choose their gender identity, they should ideally be recognized as the third gender. However, the petitioner stated that just two genders—male and female—are now recognized on DTC tickets; members of the transgender community are not included.

While a panel of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad declared, “The case is disposed of with a direction to the respondent to take a decision as speedily as practicable within a time of four months.”

The petitioner’s attorney, Amit George, argued that although the high court had already requested that the authorities investigate the matter when dealing with a related petition earlier, no decision had been made as of this writing. He also claimed that the petitioner also submitted a representation to the authorities in August 2022 but got no response.

While Santosh Kumar Tripathi, the lawyer for the Delhi government, asserted that the government will undoubtedly make a conclusion. The bench gave the petitioner permission to contact the court again if necessary.

The Supreme Court also ruled in favor of the TG Community’s right to choose their own gender and ordered the federal and state governments to recognize that choice legally. They recognized the TG Community’s legal freedom to choose their self-perceived gender, but does not recognize the TG Community as the third gender in the physical tickets issued by the DTC.

The argument made in the petition was that allowing transgender people to ride for free on DTC buses would advance social equality because they have long been rejected by society and classified as an underclass.

It was stated that lowering the cost of travel for the TG (transgender) Community would aid in their integration into wider society structures and provide them a chance to live with dignity as many members of the community are now economically and socially oppressed.