“The court’s decision ensures that trans women can access critical protections against domestic abuse and sets up a precedent for any future cases”
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGE BY CANVA
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has rejected the claims that womanhood was preserved only for those who can bear children and has ruled that trans women were “legally entitled” to recognition as women. This landmark ruling took place on 16 June.
Justice Venkata Jyothirmai Pratapa decided that correlating the definition of women to pregnancy was “legally unsustainable” and contradicted India’s constitution. Pratapa quoted a Supreme Court decision from 2014, which legally recognised the rights of “third gender” individuals, and said that prohibiting trans women’s rights to identify as women “amounted to discrimination”.
“A trans woman, born male and later transitioning to female, is legally entitled to recognition as a woman,” Pratapa declared.
This recognition is enshrined in articles 14, 15 and 21 of the constitution; which guarantee equality before the law, prohibit discrimination based on sex and protect the right to life and personal liberty respectively. Pratapa also went on to clarify that trans women are entitled to the same protections as cisgender women under Section 498A of the Indian penal code, which addresses cruelty by a husband, or his relatives.
This ruling occurred in response to a petition filed by Viswanathan Krishnamurthy and his parents, who sought to dismiss Pokala Shabana’s use of a section of the Indian penal code to seek protection from her in-laws. Pokala happens to be a trans woman.
The court’s decision ensures that trans women can access critical protections against domestic abuse and sets up a precedent for any future cases.
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