Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019
No: 40 Dated: Dec, 05 2019
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019
(Act No. 40 of 2019)
An Act to provide for protection of rights of transgender persons and their welfare and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Seventieth Year of the Republic of India as follows: -
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -
(a) "appropriate Government" means, -
(i) in relation to the Central Government or any establishment, wholly or substantially financed by that Government, the Central Government;
(ii) in relation to a State Government or any establishment, wholly or substantially financed by that Government, or any local authority, the State Government;
(b) "establishment" means -
(i) any body or authority established by or under a Central Act or a State Act or an authority or a body owned or controlled or aided by the Government or a local authority, or a Government company as defined in section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), and includes a Department of the Government; or
(ii) any company or body corporate or association or body of individuals, firm, cooperative or other society, association, trust, agency, institution;
(c) "family" means a group of people related by blood or marriage or by adoption made in accordance with law;
(d) "inclusive education" means a system of education wherein transgender students learn together with other students without fear of discrimination, neglect, harassment or intimidation and the system of teaching and learning is suitably adapted to meet the learning needs of such students;
(e) "institution" means an institution, whether public or private, for the reception, care, protection, education, training or any other service of transgender persons;
(f) "local authority" means the municipal corporation or Municipality or Panchayat or any other local body constituted under any law for the time being in force for providing municipal services or basic services, as the case may be, in respect of areas under its jurisdiction;
(g) "National Council" means the National Council for Transgender Persons established under section 16;
(h) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(i) "person with intersex variations" means a person who at birth shows variation in his or her primary sexual characteristics, external genitalia, chromosomes or hormones from normative standard of male or female body;
(j) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made by the appropriate Government under this Act; and
(k) "transgender person" means a person whose gender does not match with the gender assigned to that person at birth and includes trans-man or trans-woman (whether or not such person has undergone Sex Reassignment Surgery or hormone therapy or laser therapy or such other therapy), person with intersex variations, genderqueer and person having such socio-cultural identities as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta.
CHAPTER II
Prohibition Against Discrimination
3. Prohibition against discrimination. - No person or establishment shall discriminate against a transgender person on any of the following grounds, namely: -
(a) the denial, or discontinuation of, or unfair treatment in, educational establishments and services thereof;
(b) the unfair treatment in, or in relation to, employment or occupation;
(c) the denial of, or termination from, employment or occupation;
(d) the denial or discontinuation of, or unfair treatment in, healthcare services;
(e) the denial or discontinuation of, or unfair treatment with regard to, access to, or provision or enjoyment or use of any goods, accommodation, service, facility, benefit, privilege or opportunity dedicated to the use of the general public or customarily available to the public;
(f) the denial or discontinuation of, or unfair treatment with regard to the right of movement;
(g) the denial or discontinuation of, or unfair treatment with regard to the right to reside, purchase, rent, or otherwise occupy any property;
(h) the denial or discontinuation of, or unfair treatment in, the opportunity to stand for or hold public or private office; and
(i) the denial of access to, removal from, or unfair treatment in, Government or private establishment in whose care or custody a transgender person may be.