National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India
[2014] 5 SCR 119 · Supreme Court of India · Decision date: 2014-04-15
Key issue
Do fundamental rights protect self-identified gender, including recognition outside the male/female binary?
Facts
Petitions addressed legal nonrecognition and discrimination experienced by transgender people. Case number: W.P. (C) 400/2012 with W.P. (C) 604/2013
Holding
Gender identity is constitutionally protected. Transgender persons may identify as male, female or third gender; recognition cannot depend on compulsory sex-reassignment surgery. Equality, expression, dignity and autonomy protect identity, while substantive equality requires attention to entrenched exclusion. Directions addressed legal recognition, backward-class treatment and reservation, healthcare, welfare and public awareness. Radhakrishnan delivered the principal opinion; Sikri concurred with additional reasons. Provisions considered at judgment date: Constitution: Articles 14, 15, 16, 19(1)(a) and 21.
Pinpoints
PDF p. 122 — Paragraph 129: recognition and reservation; PDF p. 123 — Directions continued; disposition. PDF page numbers are 1-based and may differ from printed reporter pages.
Verification status
Source checked
Source note
Original TLG research note based on the linked official judgment, not an official court summary. Source identity and selected holding passages checked on 4 November 2026.
Current treatment
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 is a subsequent statutory framework. This directory does not resolve every tension between its procedures and constitutional self-identification, or verify implementation in each State. Historical case note; exhaustive subsequent treatment and current statutory application have not been checked.