Navy’s ouster of transgender sailor challenged in Delhi High Court

A transgender sailor of the Indian Navy approached the Delhi High Court yesterday, alleging that she was discriminated against after undergoing a sex change operation to become a female. She has sought the quashing of the discharge order issued by the Navy.

. The petitioner Sabi Giri (born Manish Kumar Giri) was enrolled as a young sailor in the Indian Navy in 2010. In 2016, she underwent a sex reassignment surgery in a private clinic in New Delhi and started identifying herself as a woman. After several rounds of psychiatric and other medical examinations, the Navy discharged the petitioner of her services this month.

. The Navy, in its press release stated,

. “The Indian Navy has discharged Manish Giri, a naval sailor evoking the clause of Service No Longer Required under the Navy Regulations. The serving sailor who underwent sex reassignment surgery at a private facility whilst on leave was administratively discharged from the Service…The existing service rules and regulations do not permit the sailor’s continued employment owing to his altered gender status, medical condition and resultant employability restrictions.”

. The petition filed through Advocates Amritananda Chakravorty and Mihir Samson , submitted that,

. “The discharge of the Petitioner from the Indian Navy on the ground of her transgender identity is wholly illegal and arbitrary, and violative of her fundamental rights to equality, nondiscrimination, freedom of gender expression, dignity, autonomy and health guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 16, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.”

. The petition further challenged the validity of Section 9 of the Navy Act, 1957, read with the relevant regulations that allow the enrolment of only male sailors and limited entry of women sailors in specific departments, but has no provision for enrolment or continued employment of transgender sailors.

. It is also averred that Giri was subjected to solitary confinement in a detention cell for two months, during which time she was only permitted to wear her undergarments and remained bare chested, merely for being absent without leave. Such punishment is cruel, humiliating and degrading, the petition said.

. The Division Bench of Justices GS Sistani and V Kameswar Rao , while being sympathetic to the plight of the petitioner, stated that it would not interfere with the policy decisions of the Navy. The Bench noted that the advertisement was indeed for a male sailor and that they cannot go back in time to change that.

. Appearing for the Ministry of Defense, ASG Sanjay Jain submitted that the authorities are not judgmental and respect the choice made by the petitioner. However, since the petitioner is now a female, the question to be answered is whether a woman can be recruited as a sailor in the Indian Navy.

. The Court observed that whenever a fighter pilot gets injured in the line of duty, he gets accommodated in ground duty. Something similar could be done in the present situation. The Court, however, reiterated that the Navy is best placed to see whether it can accommodate a female sailor or not.

. The matter was then adjourned.

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Navy’s ouster of transgender sailor challenged in Delhi High Court

Ashutosh Gambhir

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