JUDGMENT :

[Prathiba M. Singh, J.]

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

2. The Petitioner – Jane Kaushik is a 28 year old Indian citizen, and is a transgender person residing in Delhi. She is a highly qualified individual, holding degrees in B.A. (General), Masters in Arts (M.A.) (Political Science), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.), as well as a two-year diploma in Nursery Teacher Training (‘NTT’), which is also called Early Childhood Care and education (‘ECCE’). Since 2019, the Petitioner has been looking for employment in government schools in Delhi.

3. The present petition raises an important issue in respect of recognition of transgender persons and their rights for employment and recruitments in state departments, schools etc., under the GNCTD. The Petitioner has filed this petition seeking the following prayers:

a. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction to Respondent Nos.1, 2 and 4 to notify separate vacancies for transgender persons in all advertisements issued for recruitment to teaching positions in schools administered by Respondent No. 2 with immediate effect;

b. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction to Respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 4 to adopt necessary relaxations in minimum qualifications and age for the vacancies to be issued for transgender persons;

c. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction to Respondent Nos. 1, and 4 to frame a policy for the recruitment of transgender persons in all appointments for the Government of NCT of Delhi;

d. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction to the Respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 4 to grant relaxations to transgender persons in accordance with Clause 9 of the TET Guidelines issued by NCTE;

e. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction to Respondent Nos. 1 to implement the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020 in the territory of NCT of Delhi;

f. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction to the Respondent Nos. 2, and 4 to consider the Petitioner's application for any vacancy to a teaching position notified or due to be notified as a one-time measure;

g. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction to the Respondent No. 4 to permit the Petitioner to amend her registration details, to reflect her legal gender and name on the OARS;

h. Issue a writ, order or direction to the Respondents to extend reservation to transgender persons in all public appointments in the NCT of Delhi.

4. Ld. Counsel for the Petitioner places reliance on the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India & Ors., (2014) 5 SCC 438, which clearly recognizes the rights of transgender persons.

5. The grievance of the Petitioner in this case is that the vacancy notices issued by the Respondent No. 4 - Delhi Subordinate Staff Selection Board (‘DSSSB’) on 2nd January, 2020 and 12th May, 2021 notifying vacancies in schools administered by the Respondent No. 2 – Directorate of Education, GNCTD for the posts of assistant teacher at the primary and nursery levels, male and female TGTs for several subjects. In respect to some vacancies, no identification of gender is mentioned. However, these notices exclude transgender persons from applying for these posts. The Petitioner is also aggrieved by the fact that the DSSSB portal i.e. Online Application Registration System (OARS), when accessed, did not permit the Petitioner, who is a transgender person, to apply under the Transgender category.

6. Subsequent to the filing of the present writ petition, the DSSSB has placed on record its affidavit along with the screenshot of its OARS portal, which now clearly identifies in the field of gender - male or female or transgender i.e. all three categories.

7. Ld. counsel for the Petitioner submits that this would not be sufficient to take care of the issues raised by the Petitioner, inasmuch as, so long as the vacancies notices circulated by the DSSSB continue