ZAHHAD Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this case, an interesting, rare and exceptional issue has come up, that relates to the rights of transgender persons touching upon the necessity to safeguard their interests, when it comes to the question of the identity of their children who are born as normal persons. The essential issue to be dealt with in this writ petition pertains to the furnishing of the details of parents and their identities in terms of their gender, while issuing a birth certificate to a child born to the transgender parents.

(2.) The brief facts which are necessary to decide the issue are as follows: The 1st petitioner was born as a female and as per the Secondary School Leaving Certificate, the gender of the 1st petitioner was noted as female. Later the 1st petitioner recognised herself as a male, as an inclination to be a male developed in her mind. Based on such desire, she had taken a decision to lead a life of a male and accordingly, she changed the name by adopting a male name. The transgender identity card issued by the District Magistrate as contemplated under the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as 'Transgender Persons Act') was also obtained in the form of Ext.P1.

(3.) The 2nd petitioner was born as a male and in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate his gender was shown as male. Later, he identified himself as a female just the way the 1st petitioner felt, and accordingly he decided to live as a female. Therefore, he adopted the name of a female. He also obtained a transgender identity card from the competent authority under the Transgender Persons Act. Exhibits P1 and P2 are the transgender identity cards of the 1st and 2nd petitioners, respectively. Both of them have obtained Aadhar cards in their favour, wherein, the gender of the parties is shown as male and female respectively. Exhibits P4 and P6 are the Aadhar cards of the petitioners 1 and 2, whereas Exhibits P3 and P5 are the Secondary School Leaving Certificates showing their gender at the time of their birth.