A woman, who was terminated from the Tamil Nadu police service last year after a medical examination report declared her a ‘transsexual,’ is set to get the job back, thanks to a Madras High Court order on Thursday.
Allowing a petition challenging the termination, the court declared the petitioner as a female for all purposes. She has right to retain such sexual/gender identity.
Setting aside the termination order, Justice S. Nagamuthu directed the police to issue the consequential order within six weeks permitting her to join duty as a Grade II Police Constable (woman) with continuity of service.
“The petitioner was born as a female, recognised by the society as a female, she chose to identity herself as a female for all purposes. Therefore, I hold that she is a female in the legal parlance and thus she is eligible for appointment as a woman police constable.”
She had the liberty to choose a different sexual/gender identity as a third gender in future based on the medical declaration, if a law was put in place recognising female to males (FTMs) as a third gender.
Nangai (name changed) was appointed as a Grade II constable in Karur district on January 18, 2011. When all the selected woman constables were sent for a medical check-up, the medical officer made a remark in the petitioner’s out-patient slip as ‘Transgender.’ The chromosome test said the petitioner was a “transgender by birth.” On April 8 last year, she was terminated from service.
Mr. Justice Nagamuthu said there was no law prescribing the mode to determine the sex. There was no classification in any law as third sex (transsexuals.) If these transsexuals were not treated either as males or females, while applying the laws, they would be reduced to animals. Even for animals there was a Wildlife Protection Act.
The Judge said the Supreme Court’s judgment in NALSA case on April 15 was concerned only with transgenders who were males to females (MTFs). It had not dealt with other categories of transsexuals such as FTMs. Even after the Supreme Court judgment, FTMs were to be classified as male or female so that they enjoyed the fundamental rights.
He also held that compelling an individual who had been recognised all through as a female to undergo medical examination so as to declare her as a transsexual would be a gross violation of right to privacy.
