Can’t frame rules for transgenders in UPSC: Centre tells Delhi High Court

By NewsGram Staff Writer

New Delhi: The central government informed the Delhi High Court on Wednesday that rules for including transgenders in the UPSC examination can't be framed as the Supreme Court has not clarified the definition of a transgender.

Delhi High Court had asked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Monday, about the absence of the transgender category in this year's application forms for Civil Services Preliminary Examination.

A bench of Justice Mukta Gupta and Justice P S Teji had asked UPSC and Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) that why transgender category has not been included as an eligibility criterion for the exam, when the Supreme Court had declared transgender as the third gender.

Lawyer Jamshed Ansari had filed public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the UPSC's notice for the examination scheduled for August 23 with regard to the gender or sex eligibility criterion for applying.

Reportedly it stated that transgenders will not be able to apply for the civil services due to lack of a third gender option in the forms. It also sought addition or inclusion of transgender as an eligibility criterion in the online application forms for the examination.

The petition stated that the apex court had directed the Union and State Governments to take steps to treat the transgender community as a socially and educationally backward class and to extend all reservation to them in case of admission to educational institutions and for public appointments.

"The inclusion of the third gender in applications for the civil services examination would benefit transgenders, who were socially excluded from public employment," said the petition as per media reports.