Why can't law colleges have reservation for transgender persons? Kerala High Court asks BCI

The Kerala High Court on Thursday urged the Bar Council of India (BCI) to consider taking steps to ensure the reservation of some seats in law colleges for transgender law students [Esai Clara v State of Kerala & Ors].

The Court was hearing a petition seeking such reservation and a separate rank list for transgender candidates in Government Law Colleges across Kerala.

In today's hearing, Justice N Nagaresh observed that such reservations are already in place in various other educational institutes. He questioned why a similar measure cannot be introduced in law colleges.

"If in engineering and medical colleges, reservation can be given, why not for law colleges?" the judge asked.

The BCI's standing counsel, meanwhile, pointed out that each law college currently had only about 40 seats, making it difficult to allocate seats that are earmarked for transgender students.

The Court, however, urged the BCI's counsel to consider issuing a directive to reserve some seats for transgender candidates.

"Rajit (BCI counsel), you prevail upon them, you say otherwise an adverse order will come. If everywhere else it can be done, why should Bar Council be adamant? ... You can pass an order stating that this year you are giving the additional seats; next year, the seats will be within the 40-seat limit," Justice Nagaresh suggested.

The Court proceeded to pass an interim order seeking the BCI's response on this aspect by October 16, when the case will be heard next.

The Court also noted that the State has already written to the BCI seeking approval to create two additional seats that could be reserved for transgender students.

"The government pleader submits that the government, in principle, has decided to provide two supernumerary post in all colleges for admitting the candidates belonging to transgender category. This requires approval of the specialised body and the government of Kerala has addressed a letter to the Bar Council of India seeking permission to create 2 additional seats in each law college. No reply has been received so far. Standing counsel for BCI to get instructions. Post on 16 October," the Court's order said.

The petition before the Court was filed by a transgender woman who applied for admission to the integrated five-year LLB Course through the Kerala Law Entrance Examination (KLEE) 2025.

Although she qualified and was included in the KLEE rank list, she was denied admission to the Government Law College, Kozhikode, as no separate category or seat was provided for transgender candidates in the central allotment list issued by the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CCE).

The petitioner stated that denying her admission in the transgender category violated her fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India as well as the directions of the Supreme Court in the NALSA judgment and the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

The petitioner has urged the Court to direct the concerned authorities to grant her admission for the year 2025-2026 under the transgender reservation category. She also seeks the implementation of such reservation for transgender persons in all government law colleges and other educational institutions under the government's control.

Advocates Raghul Sudheesh, J Lakshmi, Ambily T Venu, Unnikrishnan S Thandayaan and Umadevi M appeared for the petitioner.

Standing counsel Rajit appeared for the Bar Council of India

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