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On a plea seeking reservation for transgender persons in all public appointments in the NCT of Delhi, the Delhi High Court has sought reply from the Delhi Government.

The bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao was hearing a writ petition filed by one Jane Kaushik, a transgender person and an applicant for the Teacher Eligibility Test conducted by the Delhi Subordinate Service Selection Board (DSSSB).

Kaushik had asked the court to direct the state authorities to notify separate vacancies for transgender persons pertaining to teachers’ recruitment in schools administered by the Delhi Government with immediate effect.

Relaxations to transgender persons had also been demanded by Kaushik in accordance with Clause 9 of the TET Guidelines issued by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

Addressing the broader aspect of the issue, Kaushik had further sought a separate policy for the recruitment of transgender persons in all appointments for the Government of NCT of Delhi.

Kaushik has demanded that the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020 should be implemented in the territory of NCT of Delhi.

Kaushik had also prayed the court to issue directions to the state authorities to adopt necessary relaxations in minimum qualifications and age for the vacancies to be issued for transgender persons.

Therefore, taking note of Kaushik’s plea, the court issued a notice to the Delhi Government and sought its counter affidavit within four weeks.

In addition to this, Kaushik had also sought court’s permission to change name and gender on the Online Application Registration System (OARS) portal managed by the DSSSB.

Regarding this, grating liberty to Kaushik to file a request, court directed the DSSSB to consider Kaushik’s request, if any made, and act accordingly.

Court has posted the matter on April 27, 2022 for completion of pleadings.

Case Title: Jane Kaushik vs Lieutenant Governor, NCT of Delhi and others