A bench led by Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah noted that the Union of India has broadly accepted this request and may consider formalizing it in the rules for greater clarity.
NEW DELHI: Today (29th Aug): The Centre informed the Supreme Court that a ‘certificate of identity‘ issued by the district magistrate under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 will be recognized as valid documentation for applying for a PAN card.
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A bench led by Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah noted that the Union of India has broadly accepted this request and may consider formalizing it in the rules for greater clarity.
The bench remarked,
“While this petition is still pending, we requested a response from the Union of India, which has been highly supportive and has largely agreed to the demands outlined in the petition, including the acceptance of certificates issued under Sections 6 and 7 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 by the district magistrate.”
Sections 6 and 7 of the Act pertain to certificates of identity and gender changes.
Section 6. Issue of certificate of identity
(1) The District Magistrate shall issue to the applicant under section 5, a certificate of identity as transgender person after following such procedure and in such form and manner, within such time, as may be prescribed indicating the gender of such person as transgender.
(2) The gender of transgender person shall be recorded in all official documents in accordance with certificate issued under sub-section (1).
(3) A certificate issued to a person under sub-section (1) shall confer rights and be a proof of recognition of his identity as a transgender person.
Section 7. Change in gender
(1) After the issue of a certificate under sub-section (1) of section 6, if a transgender person undergoes surgery to change gender either as a male or female, such person may make an application, along with a certificate issued to that effect by the Medical Superintendent or Chief Medical Officer of the medical institution in which that person has undergone surgery, to the District Magistrate for revised certificate, in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
(2) The District Magistrate shall, on receipt of an application along with the certificate issued by the Medical Superintendent or Chief Medical Officer, and on being satisfied with the correctness of such certificate, issue a certificate indicating change in gender in such form and manner and within such time, as may be prescribed.
(3) The person who has been issued a certificate of identity under section 6 or a revised certificate under sub-section (2) shall be entitled to change the first name in the birth certificate and all other official documents relating to the identity of such person:
Provided that such change in gender and the issue of revised certificate under sub-section (2) shall not affect the rights and entitlements of such person under this Act.
Background
The case involves a 2018 petition from a transgender individual who faced issues linking her PAN card with Aadhaar due to the absence of a ‘third gender’ option on the PAN card, unlike Aadhaar.
Social activist Reshma Prasad from Bihar had requested that the Centre add a third gender category to PAN cards to help trans individuals accurately match their Aadhaar records.
Prasad had registered under the male gender for PAN in 2012, leading to tax returns from 2015-16 and 2016-2017 being recorded under the male category. After the Supreme Court’s ruling, she updated her Aadhaar to reflect her transgender identity.
