Transgender Teacher Fired, SC Issues Notices to Centre, Gujarat, UP

New Delhi: Hearing a plea by a transgender woman whose services as a teacher were terminated by two private schools in Gujarat and UP, the Supreme Court on Tuesday sought reply from governments at the Centre, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

These private schools sacked the transgender woman when her gender identity was revealed.

A Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra issued notices to the Centre, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh governments on the plea by the transgender petitioner.

“The grievance of the petitioner is that her services were terminated in schools of UP and Gujarat after her gender identity was revealed. The petitioner says that she cannot pursue her remedies in two different High Courts. Issue notice to the Union and the states, returnable after four weeks,” the bench said in its order.

The 31-year-old transgender woman, Jane Kaushik, in her plea, said she was first fired by a private school in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district in December 2022 and was told not to join by another school in Gujarat in July 2023 for being open about her gender identity.

The petitioner pointed out that her layoffs by the two schools were discriminatory and violated her fundamental right to equality under Article 14.

The petitioner sought framing of guidelines by the Central government to ensure that no other transgender person faces the problems that she went through.