CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Tamil Nadu government to file a reply to the petitions seeking special reservations and relaxations in physical measurements for transgenders in the recruitment of sub-inspector of police in the state.
The first bench of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Audikesavalu issued the direction to the government asking it to file the response by September 26. The petitions were filed by activists Grace Banu Ganesan and Rizwan Bharathi seeking an interim stay on the notification issued by the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) on May 5, 2023, for the recruitment of 615 SIs since the notification does not provide any special reservation to the transgender community.
Senior counsel Jayna Kothari, appearing for the petitioners, said various courts, including the Madras High Court, have ordered the provision of special reservations for transgender persons. But the TNUSRB has not provided any such reservation, instead, it provided columns for transgenders to mark either male or female; and female candidates would be considered for reservation under 30% of women’s quota.
She pressed for special reservations, and relaxation in physical measurement, endurance tests and physical efficiency tests for the transgender persons in the selection of SIs.