WITH CHANGES, TRANSGENDER BILL TO BE BACK IN PARLIAMENT?

NEWDELHI: The government is set to reintroduce the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 in the budget session of Parliament, which resumes on March 5, after incorporating some of the suggestions made by a parliamentary committee, including dropping the phrase “neither wholly male or female” from the definition of transgender, officials familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The Centre is also considering doing away with the need for medical screening committees at the district level, as demanded by transgender persons since the bill was first tabled in August 2016.

“Apart from the suggestions made by the parliamentary panel, the government took cognisance of the suggestions made by various rights groups on altering the definition, and some suggestions such as doing away with the need to have a screening committee at the district level,” said an official, who asked not to be named.

The 2016 bill had proposed that a transgender person may make an application to the district magistrate for issuing a “certificate of identity as a transgender person”. The district magistrate would then refer the application to a district screening committee constituted by the appropriate government. According to the official, the revised bill would allow a certificate to be issued by the district magistrate indicating a change in gender on receipt of applications “after being satisfied”, the official said, suggesting that medical screening would not be required.