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The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice in a plea seeking direction to frame guidelines filling gaping legal lacunae with an objective to ensure and implement an effective and purposeful legal framework for the protection and welfare of transgenders in India.

A bench of Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice BR Gavai issued notice on the matter while tagging it alongwith other pending similar cases.

The petition has been filed by Kajal Mangal Mukhi through Advocate Santanu Kumar stating that Section 18 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 infringes the fundamental rights of equality, right to life, and right against discrimination as expounded by the Supreme Court in NALSA Vs. Union of India.

The plea further states that Section 18 of the Act degrades the existence of transgender persons by treating sexual offenses against them as a crime of much lesser consequence than sexual offenses against cis-gender persons.

Giving an analogy, the plea also mentioned that there is a law prescribing punishment for cruelty against animals but the punishments are so less that still every day, hundreds of offenses are committed against animals.

The plea has further sought for direction "declaring of Section 18 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 as unconstitutional as being ultra vires Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India, and for the classification of offences against transgender persons and setting of penalties for the same in accordance with companion offences penalised by the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Bonded Labour (System Abolition) Act, 1976 and The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 as set out in this Writ Petition."

Cause Title: Kajal Mangal Mukhi vs Union of India and Anr.