The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, March 25, clearing Parliament amid sustained criticism from opposition parties and sections of the transgender community. The Bill will now be sent to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent.
The legislation, which had earlier been passed in the Lok Sabha, seeks to significantly alter the framework of the 2019 law by narrowing the legal definition of a transgender person and removing the right to self-perceived gender identity. Introduced on March 13, the amendment restricts recognition only to individuals with certain biological or physiological characteristics, intersex variations, or socio-cultural identities such as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta. It excludes trans men, trans women, and genderqueer persons, all of whom were recognised under the 2019 Act.
The changes have drawn sharp criticism for contradicting the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in the National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India case, which upheld the right to self-identification and formally recognised a “third gender” category. In that judgement, the court had also directed the government to ensure reservations in jobs and education, access to healthcare, and other protections for transgender persons.
A key feature of the amendment is the requirement of medical evaluation and certification for legal gender recognition, with authority vested in medical professionals operating under a board. This marks a departure from the self-identification standard recognised by the court. The Bill also introduces graded punishments, increasing the maximum penalty for offences against transgender persons from two years under the 2019 law to 14 years, while limiting the law’s applicability to a narrowly defined group facing what it describes as “extreme and oppressive” discrimination.