1% Reservation For Transgender Persons In Public Employment: Cal HC Directs West Bengal Govt. To Implement Within State

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Justice Rajasekhar Mantha instructed the chief secretary of West Bengal to ensure the one percent reservation in all public employment sectors.

1% Reservation for Transgender Persons in Public Employment: Cal HC Directs West Bengal Government to Implement within State

KOLKATA: On 15th June: The Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal government to ensure a one percent reservation for transgender persons in all public employment within the state.

The court highlighted that while the state government has adopted a policy of equal treatment in employment for transgender individuals, the specific reservation for them has not yet been implemented.

Justice Rajasekhar Mantha instructed the chief secretary of West Bengal to ensure the one percent reservation in all public employment sectors.

This directive came in response to a petition by a transgender person who passed the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) in both 2014 and 2022 but was not called for counseling or an interview.

Justice Mantha noted that in a 2014 ruling, the Supreme Court declared that ‘hijras’ and eunuchs, alongside binary genders, should be recognized as a “third gender” to safeguard their rights under Part III of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court also upheld the right of transgender individuals to self-identify their gender and directed both central and state governments to legally recognize their gender identity, whether male, female, or third gender.

Additionally, the Supreme Court instructed the central and state governments to classify transgender individuals as socially and educationally backward classes and extend reservations for them in educational admissions and public employment.

The West Bengal chief secretary informed the high court that the state’s Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare issued a notification on November 30, 2022, stating that transgender persons are entitled to equal employment opportunities without any discrimination.

Additionally, Justice Mantha directed the secretary of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education to arrange interviews and counseling for the petitioner as a special case.

Justice Mantha pointed out that although the state has adopted a policy of equal employment treatment for transgender persons, the reservation mandated by the Supreme Court has not yet been enacted.