THE RIGHTS OF TRANSGENDER PERSONS BILL, 2014: A CRITIQUE

Abstract: The organs of Indian democracy have been conferred with various duties under the Constitution of India for smooth and good governance. In any democratic setup, the endeavour is to improve the system, mitigate the anomalies and come up to the expectations of the society. This reposes faith of the people in the State as its saviour. The judiciary has been performing its duties diligently in order to protect the various rights of the people whether they relate to fundamental or other constitutional or statutory rights. In discharge of its functions the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment on protecting the rights of the transgender persons and added a new dimension to the fundamental rights by breaking the age old barriers. The status of transgender persons was no less than a chattel or an object. With the ruling of the Supreme Court the fundamental rights of the transgender persons have been recognized. In view of the above judgment, the Council of States passed The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 in 2015 in order to provide for the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive national policy for ensuring overall development of the transgender persons and for their welfare. The present paper deals with the repercussions of the proposed Bill and offers certain suggestions for the improvement of the Bill in larger public interest.