The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the Delhi government on how transgender people can meaningfully access public jobs when recruitment advertisements continue to categorize teaching vacancies only under binary categories of ‘male’ and ‘female’, observing that merely enabling transgender candidates to register on the online application portal may not address the underlying issue.
A bench of Justices JP Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran directed the Delhi government to file an affidavit explaining how transgender candidates will be considered for appointment when vacancy notifications remain gender-specific.
“We do our best to see that transgender people get work in all possible places with respect. We will consider the larger issue later,” the jury commented during the hearing.
Read also me Assistant Professor Recruitment Test: UPESSC offers negative marks
These observations came while hearing a petition filed by Jane Kaushik, a transgender woman, seeking separate vacancies and an inclusive recruitment policy for transgender persons in government recruitment in Delhi.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, confirmed that the petitioner’s immediate grievance has already been addressed by amending the Online Application Registration System (OARS) portal to include the ‘third gender’ option.
“The complaint was that there are only ‘M’ and ‘F’. So, she cannot log in to the portal and apply. That has been provided now,” Mehta said. The third gender is provided. I have already applied. Now they will be considered when a vacancy arises. It is not her case that there is a vacancy and she is not allowed,” he said, adding that the petitioner’s request for reservation could not be approved through judicial directions as it was a matter for the legislature.
However, the bench noted that the problem goes beyond mere access to the portal.
Read also me Content, creativity and careers: How is media education evolving in the digital age?
Kaushik’s lawyer reported that although the portal was modified, the same recruitment advertisements continued to notify vacancies as “PGT Biology (female)” or “PGT Chemistry (male)”, leaving no category for transgender applicants.
“They are human beings too. Look at them with some compassion,” the bench said, adding that the real difficulty lies at the appointments stage.
“Even if you apply, you will be considered in what category? They will say you applied online but you don’t meet the categories,” the court observed while asking the Delhi government for fresh instructions.
Recording the petitioner’s arrest, the court noted that although Kaushik was allowed to register on the portal, she could still be excluded from recruitment as the advertisements only recognized male and female candidates.
“In other words, a male or female candidate, as the case may be, is considered. Its case is that the recruitment advertisement should provide a separate category for transgender persons,” the order said, giving the Delhi government time to file an affidavit on the issue.
The issue goes back to an interim order passed by the Supreme Court in April, when Kaushik was allowed to apply for teaching jobs under the transgender category after it emerged that the OARS portal only admitted ‘male’ and ‘female’ applicants.
Kaushik’s plea raises broader issues related to the implementation of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. Besides seeking separate vacancies for transgender persons, it also seeks a dedicated recruitment policy and relaxation of age and qualification norms.
Read also me ‘I stopped chasing jobs’: An Indian-origin woman in the US shares how three layoffs reshaped her career
The case had earlier reached the Delhi High Court, which allowed Kaushik to file as a transgender candidate while noting that broader questions related to reservation and recruitment policy were already pending before the apex court.
In October 2025, while separately examining the implementation of the 2019 law, the Supreme Court described the legal protections available to transgender people as a “dead letter” due to poor implementation and constituted an eight-member advisory committee headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice Asha Menon to recommend measures to ensure equal opportunities in employment, education and healthcare.
