Putting trans people under OBC quota gives no real benefit, says Rajasthan High Court
The Rajasthan High Court also criticised the Centre’s amendment Bill taking away the right to gender self-determination as something that risks reducing an ‘inviolable aspect of personhood’ to a ‘contingent, State-mediated entitlement’
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Context
The Rajasthan High Court has declared the state government's policy of classifying all transgender persons under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category as an "eyewash" that provides no real benefit. The court noted this policy is particularly detrimental to trans individuals from SC, ST, and other socio-economic backgrounds. While directing the state to form a committee to devise a meaningful reservation policy, the court has ordered an interim measure of a 3% additional weightage in marks for transgender individuals in state-run educational institutions and government jobs.
UPSC Perspectives
Polity & Governance
This judgment is a significant application of judicial review over state policy on affirmative action. The court's primary critique is aimed at the state's flawed implementation of reservation, which violates the principles of equality enshrined in (Equality before law), (Prohibition of discrimination), and (Equality of opportunity in public employment). The key issue is the distinction between vertical reservation (for SCs, STs, and OBCs) and horizontal reservation (which cuts across vertical categories for groups like women, persons with disabilities, and, as argued, transgender persons). By placing all transgender people into the OBC category, Rajasthan created an anomalous situation where a trans person from an SC/ST background would be forced to choose between their existing caste-based reservation and the new OBC status, effectively extinguishing their intersecting identity and gaining no additional benefit. The court's direction upholds the spirit of the Supreme Court's landmark (2014) judgment, which mandated affirmative action for transgender persons.
Social Issues
The High Court's ruling highlights the crucial concept of intersectionality, which is the compounded or overlapping nature of social disadvantages. The court recognized that a person's experience of marginalization is shaped by multiple identities, such as being both transgender and belonging to a Scheduled Caste. A policy that only addresses one axis of identity (gender) while ignoring another (caste) fails to address this 'compounded, aggravated marginalisation'. The judgment strongly defends the principle of gender self-identification, which was established as a constitutional right under (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) in the . The court's criticism of the fictional 'Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026' underscores the judiciary's role in protecting constitutional morality against legislative actions that might dilute fundamental rights. For reference, the existing provides a framework for recognition and non-discrimination, though it has also been critiqued for not fully implementing the NALSA directives, such as reservations.
Governance & Implementation
The judgment underscores the challenges in translating judicial directives into effective administrative policy. The court noted that even a straightforward horizontal reservation policy might be ineffective due to the small population of transgender individuals, leading to roster points appearing too infrequently. This points to the need for evidence-based and nuanced policymaking. The court's solution—directing the formation of an expert committee headed by the —is a standard governance tool to ensure that policy is informed by empirical data and stakeholder consultation. Furthermore, the court encouraged Rajasthan to learn from other states, specifically mentioning the policy models of [Karnataka] and [Tamil Nadu]. Karnataka, for instance, has implemented a 1% horizontal reservation for transgender persons across all vertical reservation categories (GM, SC, ST, OBC) in public employment, providing a concrete example of how to implement intersectional affirmative action.