NEW DELHI: The Union government on Friday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha that significantly narrows the definition of transgender persons, removes the right to self-identification, introduces medical boards for certification, and provides for punishments of up to life imprisonment for crimes such as kidnapping and forcible mutilation of children.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026, introduced by Social Justice Minister Virendra Kumar, replaces the broad and inclusive definition in the 2019 law — which covers anyone whose gender identity does not match the sex assigned at birth, including transgender men, transgender women and people with gender differences — with a definition rooted primarily in biological or congenital circumstances and traditional social and cultural identities.
Under the new definition, a transgender person means a person with social and cultural identities such as relative, hijra, aravani, jogta, or eunuch; A person with specific gender differences; Or a person who at birth has a congenital difference in sex characteristics, including primary sex characteristics, external genitalia, chromosomal patterns, gonad development, and endogenous hormone production or response.
The definition also covers any person or child who has been forced “by force, inducement, temptation, deception, or undue influence, with or without consent, to assume, adopt, or ostensibly display a transgender identity, by mutilation, castration, castration, amputation, or any other surgical, chemical, hormonal, or other procedure.”
One clause explicitly states that the definition “shall not, and will never include, persons with different sexual orientations and self-perceived gender identities.”
Rights advocates and members of the transgender community have criticized the bill, calling it a shift from a rights-based approach to a medical approach that excludes a large number of transgender people who do not fall into society’s biological or traditional categories.
The amendment deletes Section 4(2) of the 2019 Act, which states that a person recognized as transgender must have the right to self-perception of gender identity – a principle rooted in the Supreme Court’s 2014 NALSA ruling, according to experts.
Instead of the previous system under which identity certificates were issued directly by the district judge, the bill introduces a medical council, headed by the chief medical officer or deputy chief medical officer, as the new certification authority. Dubai Municipality may now issue a certificate only after studying the recommendation of this body and, if necessary, consulting other medical experts.
The bill also changes Section 7 of the 2019 Act, replacing the word “may” with “shall” to make it mandatory for a transgender person who has undergone gender confirmation surgery to apply for a revised certificate. Medical institutions performing such surgeries will be required to inform Dubai Municipality and the new medical authority of the details.
The draft law also proposes expanding penal provisions. The 2019 law stipulates a uniform prison sentence of between six months and two years for crimes including forced labor, denial of access to public places, forced eviction, and ill-treatment. The amendment replaces Article 18 entirely with a tiered system.
Under the new provisions, abducting and causing serious harm to a child – whether through mutilation, castration, castration, amputation or any other surgical, chemical or hormonal procedure – with the intention of forcing the child to assume a transgender identity is punishable by rigorous imprisonment for life and a fine of not less than £1,000. $5 lakh. For similar offenses against an adult, the penalty is rigorous imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 years, which may extend to life, with a fine of not less than £1,000. $2 lakh.
Forcing a child to wear transgender clothing or appear to be transgender for the purpose of begging, solicitation or forced labor is punishable by imprisonment for 10 to 14 years and a fine of not less than £1,000. $3 lakh. The corresponding crime against an adult is punishable by imprisonment for a period ranging from five to ten years and a fine of not less than $1 lakh.
Existing crimes – forced labour, denial of public access, forced eviction, and physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse – still carry a penalty of between six months and two years.
The bill also changes the composition of the National Council for Transgender Persons, requiring representatives of the state government and union territories not to be below the rank of director in the ministry or department concerned, and to be nominated alternately from the North, South, East, West and North-East regions.
In a statement of aims and reasons, the government said doubts and difficulties had arisen “regarding the expansion of the definition of transgender persons and how such persons are identified under the current definition”, adding that “it is vital that the legislation is used and acts only on those who are in actual need of this protection”.
The bill’s stated aim is to “protect only those who face severe social exclusion on biological grounds through no fault of their own or without their choice.”
“The 2026 Amendment narrows the definition of transgender people, removes the right to self-identify their gender, introduces medical boards for certification, strengthens government oversight, and significantly increases criminal penalties for forced mutilation or exploitation related to transgender identity,” said Avinappa Dutta, a public policy researcher.
“This amendment ignores the diverse identities and gender expressions we hold. It cannot ignore the fact that due to social discrimination and fear, many transgender individuals do not reveal their true identity. We must remember that our identity is diverse and we are not monolithic. By highlighting social and cultural identities alone, the bill excludes a large number of our people who are part of the transgender umbrella,” said Rituparna Neog, member of the National Council for Transgender People in Assam.
“The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026 turns back the clock by introducing a medical approach, instead of a rights-based approach, thus completely changing the definition of transgender people,” said senior advocate Jaina Kothari, who runs the Bengaluru-based Policy and Research Centre.
“The bill is very harmful. No one from the community even asked for this,” Kothari said.
“The bill repeals a person’s right to identify as male, female or transgender, which was upheld by the Supreme Court of India in 2014 through the NALSA and Others v. Union of India ruling. It also mimics the language of the colonial-era Telangana Eunuchs Act which criminalizes transgender people, who are suspected of ‘kidnapping children’ for castration. We successfully challenged this state law in 2023 to have it included in the law.” “It is in line with the fundamental rights of transgender people guaranteed by the Indian Constitution,” she said.
