A Supreme Court-constituted Advisory Committee headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice Asha Menon has sent a resolution to the Government of India, requesting that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, be withdrawn as the proposal to “deny self-identification” of gender went against the decision of the Supreme Court in the 2014 NALSA v Union of India verdict.
The Bill, introduced by Social Justice Minister Virendra Kumar on March 13, proposes to remove a section that recognised transgender people’s “right to a self-perceived gender identity”, redefine a transgender person, and introduce the requirement of a medical board’s nod to acquire a transgender certificate and identity card. The Bill was passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (March 24, 2026), amidst an Opposition-led walkout over their objections to the Bill.
What are the changes being proposed to Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 | Explained
Since the Bill’s introduction, transgender communities across the country have reacted sharply, with rights groups, community leaders, and collectives of feminist groups, lawyers, mental health professionals and human rights advocates coming out against the amendments being proposed to the 2019 law.
