NEET-PG 2025 : Supreme Court Issues Notice On Plea Seeking Horizontal Reservation For Transgender Persons

The Supreme Court today issued notice on a plea seeking horizontal reservation for transgender persons in National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-PG 2025. The exam is scheduled to take place on June 15, 2025.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan passed the order after hearing Senior Advocate Indira Jaising (for petitioners), who argued that despite the judgment in NALSA v. Union of India, the Union and the States have not provided reservation to transgender persons.

Contending that the directions issued in NALSA v. Union of India were a mandamus by the Court, Jaising read the following excerpt from the judgment:

"We direct the Centre and the State Governments to take steps to treat them as socially and educationally backward classes of citizens and extend all kinds of reservation in cases of admission in educational institutions and for public appointments."

Briefly put, the petition challenges notice dated 16.04.2025 and information bulletin dated 17.04.2025 issued by National Board of Education in Medical Sciences regarding NEET-PG 2025-26.

As per the petitioners, the impugned notice and bulletin are violative of Articles 14, 15 and 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and in contravention of the directions issued in NALSA judgment. The notice, it is claimed, is also violative of Article 144 of the Constitution, which provides that all civil and judicial authorities in the country shall act in aid of the Supreme Court.

The petitioners, who themselves belong to the transgender community, pray for a direction that the respondents issue a fresh admission notice providing for compartmentalized horizontal reservation for transgender persons (including them) by reserving 1% seats in each vertical category.

"In the absence of horizontal reservations, the Petitioners, who are one of the few transgender persons in the country who are pursuing/have completed M.B.B.S. and are planning to pursue their postgraduation, would be deprived of equal opportunity with no specific reservation being extended to them to ensure representation of transgender persons in postgraduate medical education despite transgender persons facing several social barriers", the plea states.

The petition has been drawn by Advocates Rohin Bhatt, Harshit Anand and Rajagopalan R; settled by Senior Advocate Indira Jaising; and filed through AoR Paras Nath Singh

Case Title: KIRAN A.R AND ORS. Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 461/2025 

Click Here To Read/Download Order