Lok Sabha passes bill to amend trans rights, Opposition calls it ‘draconian’

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed by voice vote the 2026 Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Amendment Bill.

The bill will now be moved to the Rajya Sabha. If cleared by the Upper House of Parliament, it will be sent for presidential assent.

Introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 13, the bill proposes amendments to the 2019 Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Act by redefining who qualifies as a transgender person.

It removes transgender persons’ right to a self-perceived gender identity and limits the law’s scope to those with certain biological or physiological characteristics, intersex variations, or specific socio-cultural identities such as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta.

The bill was passed in the Lower House amid criticism from Opposition parties. While some described it as “draconian”, others said that its passing showed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government’s “callous” approach.

The parties also argued that the bill undermines the right to self-identification recognised by the Supreme Court in the 2014 National Legal Services Authority v Union of India matter, or NALSA case.

The judgement had formally created the “third gender” category for transgender persons that recognised them as a socially and economically backward class.

It had issued directions to the government to ensure transgender community gets job quotas, admission in educational institutions,...

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