Parliament passes trans rights amendment bill

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

It was cleared by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, a motion to refer the bill to a select Parliamentary committee was rejected. The legislation will now be sent to President Droupadi Murmu for her 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.

If it receives the presidential assent, transgender men, transgender women and genderqueer persons, who were recognised under the 2019 law, will be excluded from the definition of “transgender person”.

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 also specifies that those who have been “compelled” assume, adopt or outwardly present a transgender identity under “undue influence” will not be covered under the law.

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”.

During the discussion in the Rajya Sabha, Opposition members raised concerns 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.

Opposition criticises amendments

Renuka Chowdhury of the Congress questioned why medical boards, rather than self-identification, would determine gender, arguing that transgender persons have the same constitutional rights as others.

“[The] Constitution is with the people who identify as transgenders today,” she added. “The prime minister himself has called himself non-biological.”

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Tiruchi Siva told the Rajya Sabha that even if the bill is passed by Parliament with a government majority, it is likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court.

“It violates Article 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution which deprives the community of the right to freedom, dignity and self determination,” he said.

Article 14 guarantees equality before the law, Article 15 prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, Article 19 guarantees fundamental freedoms and Article 21 protects the right to life and personal liberty.

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale criticised the government for not consulting the community and accused it of relying on foreign examples, claiming the legislation undermines historical recognition of gender diversity in India.

“This bill is nothing but trashy colonial legislation,” he asserted.

Shiv Sena (Uddhab Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned the lack of consulting the transgender community, while Manoj Kumar Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal criticised the absence of a rights-based approach.

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