Supreme Court Issues Notice on a PIL Challenging India's Gender Identity Framework Built on the NALSA Judgment
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL: a case filed in court for the public good, not just for the person filing it) has been filed in the Supreme Court by the India chapter of Women's Declaration International (WDI), a trust based in the UK.
The PIL argues that the system that lets people change the gender marker in their official documents, built after the 2014 NALSA v. Union of India judgment, is "grossly discriminatory" against "biological females" and dilutes rights, protections and benefits meant for women.
It asks the court to overrule the part of the NALSA judgment that held that legal recognition of a person's gender identity is part of the constitutional right to dignity and freedom. It also challenges parts of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act (as amended in 2026) and the procedures of UIDAI (the Unique Identification Authority of India, which runs Aadhaar) for updating name and gender on Aadhaar.
A bench led by the Chief Justice of India issued notice on 28 October 2026 to the Union Ministries of Social Justice and Empowerment, Law and Justice, and Health and Family Welfare. "Issuing notice" means the court has asked the government to reply; it is not a decision on the case.
The PIL relies on foreign rulings, such as the UK Supreme Court's 2025 judgment in For Women Scotland v. The Scottish Ministers, which held that "woman" and "sex" in the UK's Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex.
The case comes after Parliament amended the transgender law in March 2026 to define "transgender person" on the basis of physical or socio-cultural characteristics and to remove the right to "self-perceived gender identity". That amendment is itself under challenge before the Supreme Court.
NALSA v. Union of India (2014): Legal Recognition of Gender Identity
NALSA v. Union of India is the 2014 Supreme Court judgment that first gave transgender persons legal recognition in India. The court declared that hijras, eunuchs and other transgender persons must be treated as a "third gender", apart from male and female. It also held that every person has the right to decide their own gender identity, and that the State must recognise it. In simple words, the court said that who you are on the inside, not only your body at birth, decides your gender in the eyes of the law.
The new PIL directly asks the Supreme Court to overrule NALSA's holding that legal recognition of self-identified gender is a constitutional right. Because NALSA was a two-judge ruling, any such change would need a larger bench. The court has only issued notice so far, so NALSA remains the law of the land.
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 is the main Indian law for the rights and welfare of transgender persons. It bans discrimination against them in education, jobs, healthcare and other areas. It sets up a system through which a transgender person can get an official "certificate of identity" from the District Magistrate. It also creates a National Council for Transgender Persons and lists offences against transgender persons. In 2026, Parliament amended it in a big way, narrowing who counts as "transgender" and adding medical checks.
The new PIL challenges parts of this Act (as amended in 2026) and the Aadhaar update procedure. It argues that changing the sex marker in documents on the basis of identity harms women's rights. The petitioners say the 2026 amendment does not fully settle these constitutional questions, so the court will now look at them along with the challenges to the amendment.
- PIL filed by: India chapter of Women's Declaration International (UK-based trust)
- Notice issued: 28 October 2026, by a bench led by the Chief Justice of India
- Notice to: Union Ministries of Social Justice and Empowerment; Law and Justice; Health and Family Welfare
- Challenged: part of NALSA v. Union of India (2014); parts of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act (as amended in 2026); UIDAI procedures for updating name and gender on Aadhaar
- NALSA judgment: 15 April 2014; two-judge bench; recognised "third gender" and the right to self-identify gender
- Foreign ruling cited: For Women Scotland v. The Scottish Ministers (UK Supreme Court, April 2025)
- Transgender Persons Act: 2019 (in force 10 January 2020); amended 2026 (in force 25 May 2026)
- 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023: one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies reserved for women