Lucknow, August 24: The Allahabad high court recently observed that every person has the constitutional right to change their gender through sex change surgery, giving relief to a female Uttar Pradesh police constable seeking permission for a sex reassignment operation. The court has directed UP DGP to decide on an application by a woman police constable who sought permission for sex reassignment surgery (SRS).

As per the reports, the petitioner, who serves as a constable in the Uttar Pradesh Police, approached the court with a statement about their gender dysphoria, seeking approval for undergoing gender-affirming surgery (SRS) on March 11, 2023. While presenting their case, the petitioner's legal representative referred to the significant 2014 Supreme Court ruling in the case of the National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India. This landmark verdict pertained to the rights of transgender individuals. The counsel referred this judgment to contest the denial of the petitioner's application. On April 15, 2014, the Supreme Court officially acknowledged the status of transpersons as the third gender and upheld their inherent rights. HC on Consensual Sex: If Married Woman With Prior Experience of Sexual Relations Doesn't Object, Intimate Relationship Cannot Be Termed Non-Consensual, Says Allahabad High Court.

Recognising the constable's right to undergo gender-affirming surgery (SRS), a single-judge bench of justice Ajit Kumar observed, “There should be no doubt that a person experiencing gender dysphoria, whose emotional and psychological attributes align with the traits of the opposite sex, possesses a constitutionally acknowledged right to undergo surgical gender change.”

After hearing the arguments, the Court determined no valid reason existed for the Director General of Police (DGP) to withhold the petitioner's application. As a result, the Court instructed the DGP to address the pending application in accordance with the legal precedents mentioned in the ruling. HC on Legal Age for Consensual Sex: High Time India Look at Other Countries To Reduce Age of Consent for Sexual Intercourse, Says Bombay High Court.

"At times such a problem may be fatal as such a person may suffer from disorder, anxiety, depression, negative self image, dislike of one's sexual anatomy. If psychological interventions to alleviate such distress as above fail, surgical intervention should become a must and should be encouraged," the Allahabad court order stated.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 24, 2023 09:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).