Supreme Court Awards Compensation To Transwoman Teacher Dismissed Over Gender Identity; Forms Committee On Transgender Rights

The Supreme Court, in a significant pronouncement on transgender rights, has awarded compensation to a transwoman whose services as a teacher were terminated by two private schools, one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Gujarat, within a year, on the ground of her gender identity.

The Court noted that not only the institutions but the respective States failed to comply with the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 and the The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020. Through their omission, the States and the respective ministries committed omissive discrimination.

"We recognize that though private parties are duty-bound under the 2019 Act and 2020 Rules to uphold and promote the fundamental rights that these enactments seek to horizontally apply, yet it cannot, as a matter of course, be expected from private institutions to comply with provisions that do not find strict implementation by the State.

In the present case, the State of Uttar Pradesh, the Union and State Ministry of Education as well as the Union and State Ministry of Social Justice, and the Central Board of Secondary Education, ought to have ensured that the provisions of the 2019 Act and the Rules thereto are abided by. By failing to do so, the State has committed omissive discrimination against the members of the transgender community."

The Court noted that one of the provisions of the 2019 Act requires the establishment to appoint a complaint officer as a grievance redressal mechanism to address the issue of discrimination. However, both two schools did not have a complaint officer.

"Further, the Second School also failed to comply with the necessary provisions of the 2019 Act, which required them to appoint a complaint officer to allow the petitioner to raise her grievance. As we have mentioned in the earlier part of this judgment, such failure reflects not only negligence on part of the private party but more importantly gross apathy and omission on part of the State authorities."

The Court found that although the first school did not discriminate against her based on her gender identity but did fail to comply with the 2019 Act, the second school specifically discriminated against her by not issuing an employment letter. In view of this, the Court directed second school to pay her Rs. 50,000 as compensation. It has directed the Union, State of Uttar Pradesh and State of Gujarat to also pay her compensation of Rs. 50,000 each.

"In such view of the matter, we are inclined to award compensation of Rs 50,000/- to the Petitioner, payable by the Second School. Moreover, we also direct the Union of India to pay a sum of Rs 50,000/- to the Petitioner by way of compensation for failure to provide the relevant mechanism which disabled her to seek appropriate redressal. Likewise, the Respondent Nos. 2 and 3-States respectively are also directed to pay a sum of Rs 50,000/- each to the Petitioner. "

Court appoints Committee to undertake reforms in transgender rights

The Court also constituted a Committee to be headed by Justice Asha Menon, retired judge of the Delhi High Court, to formulate an equal opportunity policy for the protection of the rights of transgender persons.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan pronounced the judgment in a writ petition filed by Jane Kaushik, who was dismissed from service on account of her transgender identity.

"We have formulated guidelines till the Government comes out with a policy document. If any establishment does not have guidelines, we have prescribed that you will follow these guidelines till the Union comes out with policy," Justice Pardiwala said.

"We have also awarded compensation for the way she was handled, and her services were terminated. We have taken serious cognisance of that," Justice Pardiwala added.

The other members of the Committee will be Akai Padmashali, Karnataka-based transrights activist; Grace Banu, Dalit rights and trans rights activist; Vyjayanthi Vasanta Mogli, Telangana-based trans rights activist; Gaurav Mandal, Associate Professor at Jindal Global University; Nithya Rajshekhar, Senior Associate at Centre for Law & Policy, Bengaluru; and Dr Sanjay Sharma, retired Chief Executive Officer of Association for Transgender Health in India.