The Center informed the Supreme Court that existing identity documents for transgender individuals issued before amendments to the law adopted in 2026 will remain valid. This decision provides temporary protection to holders of such cards whose legal status was called into question after the introduction of new legislation.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday demanded that the government respond to inquiries asserting that amendments to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act may lead to the annulment of benefits provided to transgender individuals under old legislation, and also restrict their right to hormonal treatment to align the body with their self-identified gender.
The bench, which included Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with judges Joymalya Bagchi and Vi Mohana, raised questions about whether the amendments will be applied in the future and how transgender identification documents issued under previous provisions of the law might be deemed invalid.
Senior lawyers expressed dissatisfaction that individuals undergoing hormonal treatment are losing access to it because doctors fear legal prosecution under the new law. They also stated that the national portal for transgender individuals has been discontinued, depriving them of numerous advantages.
