Gujarat High Court Seeks Response On Separate Transgender Category In Police Recruitment
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
The Gujarat High Court has issued notices to the state Home Department and the Director General of Police (DGP) after a writ petition sought a separate category and selection criteria for transgender candidates in the ongoing Gujarat Police recruitment process.
The petition seeks employment opportunities for transgender candidates in the Class-3 recruitment being conducted by the Gujarat Police Recruitment Board. The court has sought responses from the authorities by September 28.
Applicant Applied Under Female Category
According to the petition, the 35-year-old applicant from Bhavnagar has been identified as female on their Aadhaar card. However, the applicant also holds a transgender identity certificate issued by the District Collector under the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
The applicant had applied for the Police Sub-Inspector post in the ongoing recruitment process. Since the application form provided only ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ categories, the applicant approached the DGP office for clarification.
The applicant was reportedly advised to apply under the gender mentioned on their Aadhaar card. Following this advice, the application was submitted under the female category.
Cleared Physical Tests, Missed Female Cut-Off
The applicant successfully cleared both the Physical Standard Test (PST) and Physical Efficiency Test (PET).
In the written examination, the applicant scored 74 marks, while the cut-off for the SEBC female category was 78.5 marks. The merit list was declared on July 11.
The petition argues that transgender candidates should not be required to compete under the male or female categories when no separate category is provided in the recruitment process.
Petition Seeks Separate Selection Criteria
The applicant has sought appropriate opportunities for transgender candidates through separate, constitutionally fair cut-offs or selection criteria suited to the transgender category.
The Gujarat High Court has now sought responses from the state Home Department, the DGP and other concerned parties. The matter will come up after the authorities submit their responses by September 28.
