Karnataka HC seeks State govt response in plea for Horizontal Reservation for Transgender persons

The Karnataka High Court, on Monday, sought the response of the State government in an application seeking horizontal reservation for Transgender persons in public employment..The intervention application (IA) moved by a Trust, "Jeeva" came in a plea challenging a State government notification pertaining to Police constable recruitment on grounds that it excluded a separate category for Transgender persons on par with 'men' and 'women' [Sangama V State of Karnataka]..Notice was issued by a Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Vishwajith Shetty which posted the matter for further hearing on November 26. .The IA was moved after the State government had previously informed the court that it was considering reservation for the Transgender persons under one of the categories of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) after obtaining the opinion of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes..The IA states that reservation for Transgender persons should not be provided under the OBC category but should be provided in a horizontal manner, i.e. a separate special category since Transgender persons are discriminated against based in their gender identity. ."Therefore, reservations for transgender and intersex persons should also be provided on the basis of their gender identity in a horizontal manner, similar to the manner in which horizontal reservations are provided for women on the basis of sex,"reads the IA. .It is the case of the applicant that reservation for Transgender persons should be similar to the reservation provided for women and persons with disabilities, which can then be interlocked with other social categories of vertical reservation of SC/ST/OBC category..It further contends that the proposal of the government to include Transgender persons within OBC category would not allow SC/ST Transgender persons or Transgender person from OBC category to seek the benefit of reservation under those categories. .Reservation for Transgender persons to be provided in State Police Constable recruitment: State Government informs Karnataka HC.If a Transgender person is already from the OBC category, then they would not get any additional benefit of reservation, states the application. Moreover, within the OBC category, chances of transgender persons getting any post would be very slim as they would have to compete with other members of the OBC category, it contends. .The application also throws light on the fact that in Tamil Nadu, the State government had included Transgender persons within the backward classes category known as Most Backward Classes (MBC) which is equivalent to the OBC category in Karnataka. .However, in several judgments, the Madras High Court had directed that instead of including Transgender persons within the MBC, post-based reservation in each vertical category should be provided..This apart, it has been contended that reservation should also provide for concession in age, cut-off marks and physical criteria as provided to other reserved categories. .Further, the reservation should be provided for transgender persons in public employment, public education, allotment of housing sites and schemes, the applicant submits. .[Read IA here]