Govt tables bill proposing more precise definition of transgender, drops ‘self-perceived gender identity’ | India News

New Delhi: In a major departure from the existing law, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026 introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday proposes to drop the clause that allows “self-perceived gender identity” to be the basis for self-determination and identification for approval of district transgender certificates.The existing vague definition of the expression “transgender person” makes it impossible to identify only the actual victims to whom the benefits of this Act are intended to reach,” explained the statement of objects and reasons for the bill tabled by Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar.It underlines that a transgender person “does not include or will never include persons with different sexual orientations and self-perceived sexual identities”.“The protection and benefits provided under the Act are broad in nature, and therefore, care should be taken that such identification cannot be extended on the basis of any attainable characteristic or personal preference or self-perceived identity of a claimed individual,” it added.The government has justified the proposed changes. “The purpose of this Act was to protect a specific category of persons socially and culturally known as Hijras who face social discrimination of an extreme and oppressive nature,” the statement of objects of the bill said. “The intention was and is not to protect all categories of persons with different gender identities, self-perceived genders, gender identity or gender fluidity,” it added.The bill also proposes to create specific offenses with graded penalties that reflect the gravity of harm, the irreversibility of injury and the particular vulnerability of child victims.The bill introduces a medical board headed by a chief medical officer, and if passed in its current form, the district magistrate, after examining the recommendations of the medical board cited as an “authority” constituted by the central or state government, will issue a certificate of transgender identity.As of now a person applies for a transgender certificate on the ministry’s portal and the application in which the transgender person gives an affidavit of their self-perceived identity is then accepted by the District Magistrate for document verification and approval of the certificate. After the 2019 Act was enacted and implemented in 2020 in September, around 32448 certificates have been issued as per the latest data from the National Portal for Transgender Persons.The bill defines a trans person as a “queer’, ‘transgender’, ‘arabani’ and ‘conjugation’, or eunuch, or intersex variant person or a person who, at birth, has a congenital change in one or more sex characteristics compared to male or female: development of primary sex characteristics; primary sex characteristics; chromosomal patterns, gonadal development, endogenous hormone production or response.““Furthermore, any person or child who, by force, enticement, enticement, deception or undue influence, either with or without consent, is forced to adopt, adopt or outwardly present a transgender identity through mutilation, emasculation, castration, mutilation or any surgical, chemical, or otherwise hormonal method or any other method.The bill states that the current law also prohibits discrimination and abuse against transgender people, but its punishment provisions only address simple misdemeanors and criminal offenses and carry a maximum sentence of two years in prison. The proposed amendments make room for stiffer punishments and penaltiesFor example, crimes ranging from forcing a transgender person to engage in forced or bonded labor, to denying access to public places to forcing a trans person to leave their home or village, are punishable by six months to two years in prison. Similar penalties are prescribed for cases of physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and financial abuse of a trans person.If a trans person is abducted and subjected to mutilation, castration or any surgical, chemical or hormonal procedure; or causing permanent or serious injury with intent to compel the person to adopt or outwardly present a transgender identity against his will, the offense shall be punishable by imprisonment from 10 years to life. A fine of not less than 2 lakh rupees will also be levied. The same offense involving a child will be punishable with imprisonment for life and a fine of Rs 5 lakh.If anyone compels a person, whether a transgender person or not, by force or threat, to dress, present or behave outwardly as a transgender person against the will of such person and to engage them in begging or forced labour, the punishment may be between 5 and 10 years. In case of a child the punishment can be between 10 and 14 years.