The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to consider granting reservations to transgenders in state-run educational institutions and government jobs.
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A division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne asked a committee set up by the state government for the issue to consider and submit a report by June 7.
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When Advocate General Birendra Saraf sought more time, the court remarked, "If there is a hanging sword then things move faster."
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Vinayak Kashid, a transgender who is a graduate in Electrical Engineering and postgraduate in Technology (Electrical Power System Engineering), had filed a petition seeking a modification to the advertisement issued by MahaTransco in May this year for mass recruitment to include the transgender category.
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Kashid's lawyer, Advocate Kranti LC, informed the court that a 1 per cent reservation was provided for transgenders in all caste categories in Karnataka, and sought that such a reservation policy be adopted in Maharashtra as well.?
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The court then sought to know why such a policy was not adopted by the state government.?
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Saraf informed the court that transgender persons got reservations under the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) section.?
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The bench, however, asked what would happen if a transgender person was from the general category.
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"There may be some transgenders from the scheduled caste, some in general...so why not give reservation across all categories," the court asked.
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The court asked the AG to convey its suggestion to the newly-formed committee under the social justice department of the state government.
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The state issued a government resolution (GR) on March 3, 2023, for the recruitment of transgenders in employment and education.?
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As per the GR, a committee would be set up under the social justice department comprising 14 members, who were major secretaries of various state departments and psychologists.
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When the court asked the committee to look into the issue of reservation for transgender persons, Saraf in a lighter vein said the government had "woken up from a slumber" eight years after the Supreme Court ordered for opening doors of education and employment for transgender persons.