Maharashtra files appeal before Bombay High Court against MAT order to make provision for Transgender persons to apply in Home Department

The Maharashtra government has filed an appeal before the Bombay High Court challenging an order passed by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) which directed the the State to make provisions for transgender persons to apply for posts under the Home Department..The plea was mentioned by additional government pleader Reena Salunkhe before a Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja which posted the matter for hearing on November 30. .The Mumbai bench of the MAT had, on November 14, directed the State to create a third option for transgender persons in application forms for all recruitments to the State Home Department.MAT’s chairperson Justice Mridula Bhatkar had also directed the State to fix the criteria for physical standards and tests, so that online applications can be accepted. The tribunal's order came after it was approached by one Arya Pujari, who wanted to apply for the job of a police constable. After an advertisement was issued for recruitment of police constables, Pujari attempted to apply online. However, in the application only two genders were mentioned - Male and Female - and no third gender was mentioned. Since the applicant being transgender could not fill up the column, the application could not be accepted and hence the applicant approached the tribunal. .The State government in its appeal before the High Court highlighted the administrative difficulties faced by the State to come up with a policy.The State pointed out that it is yet to frame any policy regarding the special provisions for recruitment of transgender persons, more specifically in the police force.Therefore, it is extremely difficult to implement the directions of the MAT in the ongoing police recruitment process in which the timeline for acceptance of forms was already scheduled between November 9 to November 30."The Tribunal failed to consider that the police recruitment process as such, is a herculean task and a very lengthy process," the plea stated.The State urged that the present recruitment process is ongoing and ought not be hindered on any account, considering there is urgency in filling of the vacancies in the police department."Formulating and implementing any policy, especially on the issue at hand, requires a considerable amount of time as the same requires deliberation and discussions at various levels and with various stakeholders. In the present scenario, neither the government of India has formulated any policy in that regard nor the State of Maharashtra," the plea said.In the absence of such clear policy decision pertaining to transgender persons, it is not possible to implement the directions of the MAT in such short span of time that too in the midst of the recruitment process, the State reiterated.The plea also claimed that MAT had over reached its jurisdiction while giving such directions in the absence of any policy decision and the same amounted to interference in the domain of policy making.The State also pleaded that various grass root level difficulties existed that ought to be taken into consideration before coming to any conclusion regarding appointment of transgenders as sought by the applicant."Keeping in view the overall nature of duties to be performed by the persons holding the posts for which the recruitment process is undertaken demonstrate that it is and will not at all be practicable to make appointment of transgenders to these posts" the plea stated.