NATIONAL CADET CORPS Vs. HINA HANEEFA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This intra court appeal has been filed by respondents 4 to 7 in W.P.(C)No.23404/2020 against the judgment dtd. 15/03/2021 by which the writ petition was allowed. The respondents herein are the petitioners and respondents 1 to 3 respectively in the writ petition. The parties and the documents will be referred to as described in the writ petition.

(2.) According to the first respondent, she is a transwoman who secured admission for B.A. History course in the third respondent college under the special category of transgender. The petitioner was assigned male gender at the time of birth. At the age of 21 the petitioner on 22/10/2018 underwent sex reassignment surgery from male to female at Vela Hospitals Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore. The petitioner had also undergone another surgery as part of the sex reassignment on 27/05/2019 at Renai Medicity, Kochi. Earlier the petitioner's name was 'Muhammed Ashif Ali N.' and after the sex reassignment surgery, the name has been changed to 'Hina Haneefa'. Pursuant to the surgery, the Social Justice Department issued Ext.P3 transgender identity card dtd. 08/02/2019 to the petitioner. The petitioner applied for enrolment in the National Cadet Corps (NCC) at the college. However, her application was not favourably considered.

(3.) Respondents 4 to 7 filed counter affidavit contending that the NCC authorities are empowered to enrol only those students as NCC cadets who meet the eligibility criteria as stipulated in Sec. 6 of the Act, that is, male and female students only. The petitioner secured admission in the college identifying and claiming to be a transgender and declaring that the petitioner belongs to the transgender category (female). Therefore, the petitioner cannot now turn around and claim to be enrolled as a cadet in the Girls Division, enrolment for which is open only to female gender. The petitioner has exhausted the right to self-perceived gender identity by choosing the gender as "Female" and thereafter took admission under the transgender category (female). She now falls under the third gender category, that is "transgender (female)" and not in the 'female' sex category, as is being claimed by her. As per Sec. 6(2) of the Act any female student can offer herself for enrolment as a cadet in the Girls Division. Therefore for getting the benefit of Sec. 6(2) of the Act, the candidate has to be enrolled under the female category in the College. As per the existing policy, there is provision to enroll only boys and girls cadets in the NCC. The facilities, training module and other curriculum provided in the NCC to both the divisions are different.