Srinagar: The High Court has directed Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to undertake further exercise to determine the number of transgender people in their respective regions.
The court was hearing a 2017 petition in the public interest about the “miserable” condition of transgender people in the erstwhile state.
This PIL was taken up pursuant to certain directions issued by the Supreme Court in National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India and others (2014).
The UT of Ladakh in its response enumerated various measures undertaken by the administration to deal with the issues pertaining to transgenders.
The UT of J&K filed the response stating that “there are 550 transgenders, out of which 450 are in Kashmir division and 100 in Jammu division”.
The figures were contested by Iqra Khalid, the counsel for the petitioners. The counsel said “thousands of transgenders have remained uncounted in both J&K and Ladakh”. She held that proper ascertainment of the total number of transgenders living in these UTs would be necessary.
Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice W S Nargal, who presided over the bench, directed “the respondent authorities of both the UTs i.e., UT of J&K and UT of Ladakh, should undertake further exercise to determine the number of transgenders in the respective territories”.
They said “proper ascertainment of the number of transgender district-wise would be desirable so that the concerned authorities as well as District Legal Service Authorities could reach out to them to render the necessary assistance as contemplated in the direction of the Hon’ble Supreme Court”.
The petitioner, the bench said, would be also at liberty to furnish the number of transgenders in both the UTs with necessary documents if she so desires.
The court directed the respective administrations to issue advertisements by widely publishing in electronic as well as in print media seeking information about the transgenders. This will not only help in determining the number of transgenders in the Union Territory but wherever necessary, they can be provided assistance by the concerned District Legal Service Authorities, it said.
The court also issued directions to the J&K State Legal Service Authority, and Ladakh State Legal Service Authority, to “provide necessary assistance to any person who may claim to be a transgender and their particulars are also recorded by the administrations”.
