Published Paper Details:

India's approach to transgender rights have undergone a paradigmatic transformation from cultural acknowledgment in pre-colonial society, colonial criminalization to constitutional recognition as "third gender" through the landmark Supreme Court judgment in National Legal Services Authority v. UOI (2014). This transition represented significant judicial and legislative progress and breakthrough, culminating in the enactment of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 r/w Rules, 2020, which established a statutory framework prohibiting discrimination and mandating welfare provisions across education, employment, and healthcare sectors. However, this advancement conceals a profound disconnect between formal legal recognition and the lived realities of transgender individuals who continue to face entrenched social stigma, systemic discrimination, economic marginalization, and inadequate implementation of protective legislation. The paper systematically elucidates and discusses: the meaning, conceptual clarity surrounding the definitions and various categories making up the transgender spectrum; by tracing the historical trajectory of transgender marginalization to recognition in India; the constitutional and statutory architecture establishing transgender rights in India; by highlighting role of the judiciary in bolstering the transgender rights and empowering the transgender community; by addressing the persistent hardships and challenges faced by transgenders across intersecting domains in their day-to-day life; and additionally provides policy recommendations for substantive legal reforms. The research paper employs doctrinal research methodology by describing and explaining constitutional provisions, judicial precedents and related statute, supplemented by secondary sources like articles, books, journals, newspapers, reports, etc.