Keywords – Maharashtra, Reservation, Transgender persons, Bombay High Court.
The Maharashtra government informed the Bombay High Court that providing additional reservations for transgender persons in education and employment poses difficulties due to the existing extent of vertical and horizontal reservations. The Advocate General of Maharashtra, Dr. Birendra Saraf, stated that the Central government has not implemented any guidelines to enforce the Supreme Court judgment regarding transgender rights. The submission came in response to a petition seeking job reservations for transgender persons in the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Co. Ltd. The petitioner’s lawyer suggested adopting a reservation policy similar to the one in Karnataka, where a 1% reservation has been provided in all caste categories.
In a previous case, the Court had directed the State government to frame rules for the employment of transgender persons in government posts based on the 2020 guidelines issued by the Central government. The State issued a government resolution in March 2023 for the recruitment of transgender persons in employment and education, which included the formation of an expert committee to address the matter. The Court suggested that the petitioners make a representation before this committee to discuss the issue of reservation for transgender persons. The Court adjourned the matter to allow the expert committee to consider the reservation issue.
Overall, the Maharashtra government acknowledged the challenges in providing additional reservations for transgender persons, while the Court directed the petitioners to engage with the expert committee established by the State government to address the matter effectively.
Written by- Anjali Sudha, College name – Haridev law college, Kashipur., Semester- 6th sem an intern under Legal Vidhiya