On July 6, Telangana High Court repealed Telangana Eunuch Act, 1919. Telangana High Court not only repealed it but also called it unconstitutional. According to the Telangana High Court, the Telangana Eunuchs Act of 1919 was an invasion of transgender privacy. Furthermore, according to the Supreme Court, the Act is in fact “an attack on the dignity of transgender people”.
The bench includes Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy and Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan. According to Bench, the Act violated the equal rights, as enshrined in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, and the right to privacy and dignity enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, of the transgender community.
Telangana Eunuchs Act – EXPLAINED
The Telangana Eunuch Act was earlier known as the Andhra Pradesh Eunuch Act. In 1919, the Act was first enacted in the Hyderabad domain of Nizam. The law was applied to the community of “eunuchs”. According to the Law, “eunuchs” include all those who are biologically male but agree to be coerced. This is also done by people who show signs of impotence after a medical examination.
By law, all eunuchs must be registered with the authorities. Such registrations involve sharing information such as whereabouts etc. This is because they are “reasonably suspected” of kidnapping the boy or committing unnatural crimes.
The law also allows eunuchs to be arrested without a warrant and jailed for two years if they are caught wearing women’s clothes for public entertainment in any public place or where a person moves. were seen with a boy under the age of sixteen.
The law was challenged on the simple grounds of being “outdated law”. According to activists, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code refers to the term “unnatural offense”.
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The case in question
The matter came to light with the case V. Vasanta Mogli v. State of Telangana. In this case, three identical public interest lawsuits were merged and heard in a joint ruling on Thursday, July 6.
In 2018, Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, a transgender activist, along with others, filed a petition claiming that the law was “unconstitutional and discriminatory”. According to the petitions, the law discriminates against the transgender community and eunuchs. The Telangana High Court on its orders said that there would be no prosecution or arrest under the Act.
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Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education