‘Retrograde, unconstitutional’: 100+ lawyers, feminists urge withdrawal of Transgender Bill 2026

"Trans persons have held their hard-won right to legal recognition of their self-identified gender identity for over 10 years," appeal states

Published Mar 21, 2026 | 3:13 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 21, 2026 | 4:32 PM

Representational image. Credit: iStock

Synopsis: ALIFA and NAJAR have appealed to Parliament to withdraw the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026. They argue it undermines the NALSA judgment by narrowing definitions, removing self-identification rights, and imposing medical gatekeeping. The Bill risks excluding marginalised communities, criminalising support networks, and reversing hard-won constitutional protections for transgender citizens, sparking nationwide protests and demands for review.

The All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA) and the National Alliance for Justice, Accountability and Rights (NAJAR), associated with the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), have issued an open appeal to MPs demanding the withdrawal of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026.

Introduced in the Lok Sabha on 13 March by Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr Virendra Kumar, the Bill has sparked widespread protests across India.

Activists argue that the proposed changes roll back hard-won rights guaranteed under the Supreme Court’s landmark NALSA judgment (2014), which upheld self-identification of gender as a fundamental right under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution.

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Key objections:

Narrowed definition of transgender persons that excludes trans men, trans women, non-binary, and genderqueer individuals without medical diagnoses or socio-cultural identities.
Removal of self-perceived identity protections, contradicting constitutional guarantees.
Introduction of medical gatekeeping via mandatory medical board recommendations, which activists say reinstates barriers previously rejected by the courts.
Exclusion of marginalised communities, making legal recognition and protections inaccessible to those most vulnerable.
Criminalisation of support systems, with new penal provisions treating self-determined identity as coercion.

The groups also slammed the Bill for failing to address existing shortcomings in the 2019 Act, such as lack of reservations in education and employment, inadequate penalties for offences, and exclusion of chosen families.

Calling the Bill “retrograde” and “unconstitutional,” ALIFA and NAJAR urged MPs to send it to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment for a comprehensive review, including testimonies from transgender, intersex, non-binary, and genderqueer communities.

“Transgender persons in India have held their hard-won right to legal recognition of their self-identified gender identity for over 10 years,” the appeal states.

“The Amendment Bill proposes to remove that recognition not on account of any demonstrated failure, but on the basis that the government considers their identities insufficiently grounded in biology or socio-cultural tradition.”

With endorsements from dozens of activists, lawyers, academics, and grassroots organisations nationwide, the appeal underscores that the Bill threatens constitutional parity, bodily autonomy, and equal citizenship. Protesters across India continue to demand its immediate withdrawal.

ALIFA-NAJAR Open Appeal to MPs – Withdraw Transgender Amendment Bill, 2026-3