The Union government gave an assurance in the Supreme Court on Monday (August 17, 2026) that transgender identity cards issued prior to the enactment of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026, will continue to remain valid.
The Supreme Court had made it clear in the previous hearing to the Centre that the 2026 law, seen as dismantling the transgender community’s right to self-identification, should not work retrospectively to invalidate transgender cards issued to members under a previous legislation. They have contended that the 2026 Act has worked contrary to a NALSA judgment of the Supreme Court in 2014 which upheld transgender persons’ right to self-determined gender identity and protected them from discrimination and social stigma. The judgment had led to the enactment of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. The 2019 Act had largely captured the essence of gender non-conformity and embodied the self-identification principle.
Petitioners, who include activists and community members, had pointed out that the importance of the transgender identity cards cannot be trifled away by the Union government.
A lawyer, who identified as a member of the community, had said the card was an essential part of her basic identity.
