Srinagar: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh mandates governments to conduct a census to ascertain the transgender population in their regions.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation, a division bench of Chief Justice N. Kotiswar Singh and Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal also directed the administration of both region’s to issue advertisements by widely publishing in electronic as well as in print media, seeking information about the transgenders.
The PIL has been taken up the court pursuant to certain direction issued by the Supreme Court in National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India and others (2014) 5 SCC 438.
“Ladakh has submitted its response enumerating various measures undertaken by the Administration to deal with the issues pertaining to transgenders, however, in the said response, it has been mentioned that the total number of transgenders is 6, 4 in Ladakh and 2 in Kargil,” the Division Bench said.
However the figure was seriously contested by counsel for the petitioner, saying that numbers are large and that these have not been properly identified. Similarly, J&K filed the response in which it has been mentioned that there are 550 transgenders out of which 450 are in Kashmir Division and 100 in Jammu Division.
This figure was also contended by counsel, saying that “thousands” of transgenders have remained uncounted in both the J&K and Ladakh and as such impressed upon the proper ascertainment of the total number of transgenders living in regions.
“We are also of the view that proper ascertainment of the number of transgenders district wise would be desirable so that the concerned authorities as well as District Legal Service Authorities could reach out to them to render the necessary assistance as contemplated in the direction of the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” the court said.