A city court has stressed on the need for separate lockups, prisons and other provisions for transgenders, declared as a ‘third gender’, saying they have full legal rights and cannot be shuttled between men and women depending upon convenience. The court cited the Supreme Court’s recent landmark verdict where the transgenders/eunuchs were declared as a third gender and said it was time for the criminal justice system to effectively recognise them as such and create separate lock-ups, prisons, toilets for them when they are on the wrong side of the law. It also said that it is time to arrive at a consensus to suitably amend the rules relating to prisons and lock-ups in this regard.
“It, therefore, becomes equally important that when they are on the wrong side of law, they be proceeded against and punished in accordance with law just as any other ‘Person’ whether a ‘Man’ or a ‘Woman’ after ensuring that their human and constitutional rights are in no manner compromised. Provisions for creating separate lockups/prisons and making separate provisions for the transgenders/ eunuchs has been necessitated as they have full legal rights and cannot be shuttled between man and woman depending upon convenience and denying any effective legal status to them is violative of human rights,” Additional Sessions Judge Kamini lau said.
The court passed the order in a case where a man was beaten by several persons, including two eunuchs, when he objected to their nude dance in public in a residential area in November 2012 in Begumpur in North-West Delhi. When victim Raju Chauhan’s pregnant wife Savita came out to save him, several men and eunuchs also beat her up leading to her abortion, it said. “Violation of law by eunuchs was the root cause of the incident of violence in this case… but the investigating agency failed to proceed against the accused eunuchs,” the court remarked.
ASJ lau said despite the apex court having declared eunuchs/ transgender as ‘Third Sex’, so far the criminal justice system appears to be finding itself severely ‘handicapped’ in this issue. “It is observed that the hesitation of the police to act in cases of receipt of complaints in case of violation of law by these eunuchs/ transgenders is primarily on the account of the fact that they find themselves incapable of proceeding against them within the existing infrastructure and paraphernalia as in this case,” the judge said.
The court, however, added that instances of exploitation of this third gender are often reported and they frequently suffer harassment by police in public places, harassment at home, police entrapment, rape, discriminations, abuse in public places etc. Yet, at the same time, on account of being sidelined, isolated and marginalised, they have also been found on the wrong side of law while indulging into organised beggary, prostitution and extortion.