Lok Sabha passes bill to amend trans rights, Opposition calls it ‘draconian’

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed by voice vote the 2026 Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Amendment Bill.

The bill will now be moved to the Rajya Sabha. If cleared by the Upper House of Parliament, it will be sent for presidential assent.

Introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 13, the bill proposes amendments to the 2019 Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Act by redefining who qualifies as a transgender person.

It removes transgender persons’ right to a self-perceived gender identity and limits the law’s scope to those with certain biological or physiological characteristics, intersex variations, or specific socio-cultural identities such as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta.

The bill was passed in the Lower House amid criticism from Opposition parties. While some described it as “draconian”, others said that its passing showed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government’s “callous” approach.

The parties also argued that the bill undermines the right to self-identification recognised by the Supreme Court in the 2014 National Legal Services Authority v Union of India matter, or NALSA case.

The judgement had formally created the “third gender” category for transgender persons that recognised them as a socially and economically backward class.

It had issued directions to the government to ensure transgender community gets job quotas, admission in educational institutions, health benefits, separate public toilets and a host of other safeguards against discrimination.

Provisions of bill

The new bill proposes to make medical evaluation and certification mandatory for legal gender recognition. It underlines that the authority to permit such transitions is vested in medical professionals operating under a medical board.

The bill also introduces graded punishments based on the severity of offences, increasing the maximum penalty from two years under the 2019 law to up to 14 years.

It emphasises that the law is intended to protect a defined class of persons facing “extreme and oppressive” discrimination and not all “persons with various gender identities, self-perceived sex/gender identities or gender fluidities”.

Opposition criticises amendments

On Tuesday, Congress MP S Jyothimani said the amendment bill was introduced without consulting the transgender community, asserting that it was not a reform and should be sent to a standing committee.

“This is not democracy but a monologue of power, which is the trademark of the [Narendra] Modi government,” Jyothimani alleged.

Samajwadi Party MP Anand Bhadauria questioned the government’s claims that the bill was aimed towards welfare, stating that it imposes restrictive definitions and unfairly excludes sections of the community.

DMK MP T Sumathy accused the Union government of interfering with the right to self-determination of identity.

“This government treats the transgender community as subjects to be corrected, which is highly condemnable,” she said.

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule also opposed the bill, stating that it had been brought in “an extremely hasty manner”.

“If we take the basis of fundamental science, it is impossible to identify anyone as transgender with 100% certainty,” she said, adding that it was “technically difficult” to show someone was transgender in the birth certificate.

Also read: It took me decades to find myself. The trans bill erases me in one sweep