The Bombay high court recently ruled out that the transgender person who has undergone a sex re- assignment surgery can file a complaint and can seek relief under protection of women from domestic violence act.
On 16 March, a single bench of Justice Amit Borkar said that the definition of women is longer limited to binary of men and women.
He also stated that section 2(a) of protection of women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 says that “aggrieved person” means any women who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by the respondent.
The court held that such person must be recognised as aggrieved person.
There should be no restriction and doubt on the person whether male or female, who wants to undergo the sex reassignment surgery as it is depends on the person’s will.
Basically, the objective of the provisions of Protection of women from Domestic violence act 2005 is to provide protection to the victims, to serve the justice in timely, cost effective, and convenient manner.
So, the person who wants to change his gender to female is entitled to these benefits irrespective of the fact that whether they come in the definition of women or not because it was discussed earlier that the definition of women is no more limited to the binary of men and women and includes the transgender person also who has changed her sex in tune with her gender characteristics”, the court said.
The Bombay high court upheld the judgement of lower court directing a man to pay the interim maintenance to his wife who was initially a transgender person.
The fact of the case is that the mean challenged the order of a lower court in October 2021 upholding a magistrate court directive asking him to pay the maintenance or relief of Rs. 12,000 on monthly basis to his alienating wife who was earlier a transgender person.
The wife had filed a case against his alienated husband as a woman under the Protection of women from domestic violence act.
According to the wife, she undergone to the surgery of gender reassignment and became woman from the transgender person in the year 2016.
In the same year she got married but due to personal grudges and differences she filed the application before the court seeking maintenance under Domestic act.
The husband in the petition in HC claimed that his wife doesn’t fall under the definition of aggrieved person
The lawyer of the wife Vrushali Laxman argued that after the surgery, the wife recognised her gender as female.
Husband’s plea got dismissed and the HC directed the husband to clear all arrears of maintenance.
Written by- Jyoti student of BA LLB (2ndsemester) at Army institute of law, Mohali
