People staged a protest against the Transgender Amendment 2026 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Thursday. | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
A day after the Rajya Sabha passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, about 140 women lawyers and feminists wrote to President Droupadi Murmu urging her to oppose the bill, pointing out “constitutional violations” in its provisions and “procedural flaws” in the way it was passed.
Also read | Two members of the National Transgender Council resign, citing “regressive” amendment
The letter was written by the All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA), an all-India collective of local organizations, along with the National Alliance for Justice, Accountability and Rights (NAJAR), a forum of lawyers and lawyers.
In their letter, the groups said they were “extremely concerned and disturbed by the undue and unjustifiable haste” with which the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Violation of legislative policy
They said the failure to hold public and stakeholder consultations violated the mandate of the 2014 Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy. Members of the National Transgender Council said they were not consulted. Soon after the Rajya Sabha passed it on Wednesday, two members and representatives tendered their resignations, the paper pointed out.
The letter highlighted that in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India (2014), the Supreme Court held that the right to gender self-determination is a fundamental right protected under Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution.
They further said that the introduction of a medical board whose recommendation must be “examined” before issuing an identity card is also contrary to the Supreme Court’s position in NALSA, which rejected such a requirement, adding that it also violates the “right to bodily integrity and privacy” as enshrined in the Constitution.
By removing the guarantee of a self-perceived identity, narrowing the definition of who qualifies as transgender and introducing a series of medical and administrative controls, transgender people, activists and allies say many will be erased and rendered invisible by law.
Meanwhile, several press conferences and protests were held Thursday as groups set up helpline numbers amid rising existential questions among the transgender community.
Published – 26 March 2026 21:47 IST
