The Union government on Friday moved to significantly tighten the legal framework governing the rights of transgender persons by introducing a Bill to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 in the Lok Sabha.
The proposed legislation seeks to prescribe rigorous life imprisonment and a minimum fine of ₹5 lakh for the forced conversion of children to a transgender identity through mutilation, emasculation, castration, or any surgical and hormonal procedures. In cases involving adults, such coercive acts will be punishable with imprisonment for up to 10 years, which may extend to life, alongside a fine of ₹2 lakh.
The government’s statement of objects and reasons emphasises that these provisions will operate cumulatively with general criminal law to uphold the constitutional guarantee of bodily integrity and provide a legislative shield against human trafficking and forced labour.
The amendment also targets the systemic exploitation of non-transgender children, introducing a minimum 10-year prison term, extendable to 14 years, for anyone who forces or induces a child to present as transgender for the purpose of begging, solicitation, or bonded labour.
Beyond these punitive measures, the Bill proposes a significant widening of the legal definition of a transgender person. The updated definition now encompasses socio-cultural identities such as kinner, hijra, aravani, and jogta, as well as individuals with congenital variations in sex characteristics, including chromosomal patterns and endogenous hormone production.
Crucially, a new provision has been brought in for action against anyone who forces, threatens or induces a non transgender child to dress, present, or conducts themselves outwardly as a transgender person, and who employs, uses, or causes such a child to engage in begging, solicitation, servitude, forced or bonded labour. Such an act “shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to fourteen years, and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than ₹3 lakhs,” the bill said.
To streamline the administrative and social transition of the community, the Bill introduces provisions for a designated authority to facilitate consequential changes in official documents. It also seeks to restructure the National Council by ensuring that regional representatives from the North, South, East, West, and North-East, not below the rank of Director, are included in the body by rotation.
Furthermore, the legislation empowers relevant authorities to seek expert advice where necessary, ensuring that the legal and medical complexities of intersex variations and gender identity are addressed with professional precision.
Published on March 13, 2026