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Synopsis

The Maharashtra Government has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the order of the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal which had directed the State Government to make provisions for transgender people for recruitment in the state home department. 

The State Government has pleaded that it is yet to make a policy for recruitment for transgender in the police force and it is extremely difficult to implement the directions of the Tribunal in the ongoing police recruitment process in which the timeline for acceptance of the forms has been already scheduled between 09/11/2022 till 30/11/2022 all over the State for various posts such as Police Constables, Constable Drivers and constables in State Reserve Police Force.

The State has further submitted that the State Recruitment Process is a herculean task and a very lengthy process. Further, neither the Government of India has framed any policy nor the State government, it told. 

The Government has argued that Tribunal has overreached its jurisdiction while giving such directions in the absence of any policy decision to that effect by the Government of Maharashtra and the same amounts to interference in the domain of policy making.

While citing the process followed by different states for the recruitment of transgender in the force it was submitted by the state that
"it is submitted that the various States have treated the 3rd Gender in different manner. The State of Punjab has treated the 3Gender as Male and accordingly fixed the physical standards for selection. Whereas, the State of Tamil Nadu has treated 3rd Gender as Female and accordingly fixed their physical standards for selection. The State of Bihar. Karnataka have provided reservation for Transgender Person. However. the State of Maharashtra is yet to frame policy regarding Transgender Person".

The impugned order was passed by the Chairperson of the Tribunal after Arya Pujari, a transgender, had approached the tribunal when he could not fill out the online application for police constable. Pujari had informed the tribunal that in the application form only two genders were mentioned i.e., male and female and that there was no option for transgender to fill out the application form.

The MAT had then directed the state to make available a third option for transgender for recruitment of all posts under the State Home Department. The tribunal had also directed the state to design the physical standards and tests for transgenders