In a case testing the boundaries of India’s marital laws, the Delhi High Court is now hearing two petitions filed by a biologically female litigant undergoing treatment for gender dysphoria, seeking to quash First Information Reports (FIRs) lodged by her estranged female partner.
The petitioner has in one of the petitions sought quashing of an FIR registered at a police station in the national capital for the offence of cruelty by a husband or his relatives towards a woman (Section 498A). In the second petition, she has asked the High Court to quash proceedings pending before a local court here under various provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 on the ground that the parties were in a same-sex relationship.
Both matters are presently being heard by the same judge of the Delhi High Court.
The petitioner says she was born a genetic female but was later diagnosed with a Gender Identity Disorder (gender dysphoria). She consistently displayed behavioural and social characteristics aligned with a male. She has submitted to the court a certificate issued by the All India Institute of Medical Sciencies (AIIMS) confirming her genetic sex, her desire to transition to the male gender, and ongoing therapy.
