Delivering the verdict, Justice Anu Sivaraman ruled that 22-year-old Hina Haneefa is entitled to be admitted to NCC in accordance with her self-perceived gender identity.
Kerala High Court has allowed the admission of a transgender person to the National Cadet Corps.
Delivering the verdict, Justice Anu Sivaraman ruled that 22-year-old Hina Haneefa is entitled to be admitted to NCC in accordance with her self-perceived gender identity.
The court called for amending the enrolment criteria under Section 6 of the National Cadet Corps Act, 1948 which excludes transgenders from joining the NCC.
In her petition, Hina had contended that she had joined the NCC when she was 13 years old. At that point in time, Hina was enrolled as a boy. Thereafter, Hina underwent transformational surgeries following which she was barred from the NCC.
The defence ministry had argued that it cannot induct a transgender as it would be in contradiction with the NCC act provisions.
However, the court ruled that the NALSA judgement of 2014 and the Transgender Act of 2020 overrides the argument that the NCC does not have rules to enrol transgenders.
The court held that Hina is entitled to enrolment in the senior girls' division of the NCC and that rejection of her request for the same is unsustainable.
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