Old transgender ID cards valid till law challenge decided: Centre
Transgender identity cards issued before the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026 took effect will remain valid and unaffected by the new law, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday, August 17, during the hearing of about 15 petitions challenging the amendment.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana that he had taken instructions confirming the earlier-issued Transgender Identity (TGI) cards would continue to operate, subject to the outcome of the pending petitions. He said the Centre would file its formal response, and the bench fixed the matter for final hearing after three weeks.
A TGI card offers official recognition of a person's self-identified gender and supports changes to name and gender across official records, according to the government's transgender portal.
The petitions challenge the 2026 amendment on several grounds, including that it takes away the right to self-identification of gender recognised under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
Senior advocate Jayna Kothari, appearing for one petitioner, urged the bench to order restoration of transgender identity cards that had already been cancelled, but the bench said it could not issue a general direction and asked petitioners to bring individual cases through separate applications. Kothari also sought protection for applicants awaiting issuance of their cards; the bench said it would wait for the Centre's reply affidavit before taking up that issue.
Senior advocate Rajiv Shakdhar, representing another petitioner, argued the balance of convenience favoured petitioners and that existing benefits for transgender persons should not be disturbed. Justice Bagchi said such issues would need to be examined on the facts of individual cases.
Senior advocate Arundhati Katju submitted that the 2019 law was built on the principle of self-identification and that benefits under it should not lapse because of the amendment.
Another advocate raised concerns about disruption to medical treatment for transgender persons currently undergoing care, while Kanmani, a transgender advocate practising before the Madras High Court, flagged possible disruption to welfare benefits and other essential services. Senior advocate Anand Grover said some states had issued transgender ID cards based on the Supreme Court's 2014 NALSA v. Union of India judgment rather than the 2019 law, and argued those cards should also remain unaffected.
The Supreme Court had earlier stayed proceedings on the 2026 amendment pending before various high courts after the Centre sought their transfer to the apex court. At an August 3 hearing, the bench had orally observed that the amendment could not strip away rights already accrued to individuals, and had scheduled final hearing of all the pleas for August 17.
On May 4, the bench had also flagged concerns about people misrepresenting themselves as transgender to access government schemes and sought responses from the Centre.
Parliament passed the amendment bill on March 25, excluding social orientations from the law's ambit, and it received presidential assent on March 30. The amended Act provides for graded punishment based on the severity of harm inflicted on transgender persons.
The petitioners have cited the Supreme Court's 2014 verdict, which upheld transgender persons' right to self-identified gender and directed the Centre and states to grant legal recognition as male, female or third gender. One plea has sought a declaration that this right to self-identification is a fundamental right under Article 21 that cannot be made conditional on bureaucratic certification, medical procedures or clinical processes chosen by the state.
It has also sought a direction that all identity certificates lawfully obtained under the 2019 Act before the amendment remain valid, along with the rights and entitlements flowing from them.
(Inputs from PTI)
