In its landmark judgment the Supreme Court while acknowledging the eunuchs or transgenders as the third gender,asks the government to ensure they get job quotas and facilities including a voter card, passport and driving license.  

 

"Acknowledgment of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue," the court observed today, directing the government to treat transgenders as "socially and economically backward", to permit them to get reservations in jobs and education.

 

"They are also citizens of India. It is the right of every human being to choose their gender. The spirit of the Constitution is to provide equal opportunity to every citizen to grow and attain their potential, irrespective of caste, religion or gender," the court observed.

 

The petitioners won the first round in the court. In the second round they have to slug it out for its implementation. The PIL was filed way back in 2012 by a battery of petitioners including a prominent eunuch and social activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi seeking equal rights for the transgender population under the law. 

 

Expressing concern over the plight of transgenders, the apex court asked both the Centre and the states to develop awareness among the people regarding them and end any perceived stigma. Theverdict comes a few months after the apex court, in its widely criticized decision, reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex.