SC stays proceedings before High Courts in petitions challenging amended trans rights law

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed proceedings before four High Courts in petitions challenging the amendments to the Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Act, Live Law reported.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana issued notices to the respondents on petitions filed by the Union government seeking the transfer of cases pending before various High Courts to the Supreme Court.

Petitions against the amended law are pending before High Courts of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala and Delhi, Live Law

reported. The Supreme Court on Monday indicated that it may either transfer them to itself or consolidate them and assign them to a particular High Court.

The 2026 Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Amendment Act was cleared by Parliament on March 25 after a motion to refer the proposed legislation to a select parliamentary committee was rejected.

Introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 13, the legislation amends the 2019 Act by redefining who qualifies as a transgender person.

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

The law makes medical evaluation and certification mandatory for legal gender recognition. It underlines that the authority to permit such...