Rajya Sabha passed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 ILW Legal Article Wed, Nov 27, 2019, at ,02:10 PM Rajya Sabha has cleared the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019. The bill moved by the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Mr. Thaawarchand Gehlot, and is aimed at protecting the rights of transgender persons by granting them recognition and making welfare provisions for them. The bill was passed by voice vote on 26th November. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 5, 2019, during the monsoon session of parliament. The Rajya Sabha passed the bill without any amendment. Salient Features of the Bill The present bill defines a transgender person as one whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth. It includes trans-men and trans-women, persons with intersex variations, gender-queers, and persons with socio-cultural identities. Prohibits discrimination against a transgender. Prohibits denial of any rights provided to other genders, like, healthcare, education, employment, etc. The bill criminalizes denial of use of public places to transgenders, removal of transgenders from household and village, etc. The Bill prescribes for a certificate of identity to be issued by the District Magistrate. The bill proposes the establishment of a National Council for Transgender Persons. The bill is certainly a step forward towards the concept of equal rights but it is not a perfect law. In the parliamentary debate, several questions were asked regarding several provisions of the bill. Few MPs pointed out “technical shortcomings" within the Bill and sought that it be referred to the Standing Committee. The most disputed provisions in the bill include power conferred on the District Magistrate to grant the certificate of identity to Transgender applicants. BJD MP from Odisha Sasmit Patra on Friday pointed out that the Bill was silent as to what recourse will a person have in case the DM refuses to recognize a transgender or to issue a certificate to him/her. Dr. L. Hanumanthaia, INC MP from Karnataka, questioned the logic behind empowering a DM to grant a certificate of identity. "How can a DM certify that an individual is a transgender," he asked. He suggested that the government should rather confer such powers on a govt. doctor. SP MP Jaya Bachchan, on the other hand, opposed the very idea of Certification. She said that the bill had been introduced in a hurry, not contemplating that the very idea of Certification has an effect of segregating the transgenders from the society, thereby discriminating and humiliating them. Gulam Nabi Azad, Leader of the opposition, suggested that the Bill should encapsulate provisions for providing reservation to the transgenders in public employment. Shanti Chhetri, AITC MP, had proposed that provisions pertaining to the Right to marry and inheritance of property for transgenders must also be included in the Bill. The Bill will now be placed before the President for his assent.