Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 26: A Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court comprising Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice M A Chowdhary has granted two weeks time to both the Union Territories to identify the number of transgender.
The DB further directed the administration of both the UTs to issue advertisements by widely publishing in electronic as well as in print media seeking information about the transgender which will not only help in determining the number of transgender but wherever necessary they can be provided assistance by the concerned District Legal Service Authorities.
The DB also directed J&K State Legal Service Authority and Ladakh State Legal Service Authority to provide necessary assistance to any person who may claim to be a transgender and their particulars should also be recorded by the administration.
The order has been passed in a PIL which has been taken up pursuant to certain direction issued by the Supreme Court in National Legal Services Authority Versus Union of India and others.
The UT of Ladakh has submitted its response enumerating various measures undertaken by the administration to deal with the issues pertaining to transgender, however, in the response, it has been mentioned that the total number of transgender is 6–4 in Ladakh and 2 in Kargil, which figure has been seriously contested by Iqral Khalid.
Similarly, UT of J&K has filed the response in which it has been mentioned that there are 550 transgender out of which 450 are in Kashmir Division and 100 in Jammu Division. This figure was also contended by counsel for the petitioner.
Even DB is of the view that proper ascertainment of the number of transgender 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 Supreme Court.
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