The Bombay High Court today posted for hearing on November 27 a petition filed by a 28-year-old woman police constable in Beed district, seeking direction to Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) to grant her leave to undergo a sex change surgery. Lalita Salve, who now prefers to be called Lalit, had sought a month's leave to undergo the sex reassignment surgery, but the request was refused by Beed police authorities, following which she petitioned the high court. Salve's lawyer Ejaz Naqvi today mentioned the petition before a division bench of Justices S M Kemkar and G S Kulkarni, which posted it for hearing on November 27. As per the petition, Salve, born in June 1988, noticed changes in her body three years ago and underwent medical tests, wherein it was found that the presence of Y chromosome was more. "The petitioner later undertook counseling sessions with psychiatrists at the state-run J J Hospital. The doctors found that she had gender dysphoria abnormality and advised her to undergo sex reassignment surgery, if she was willing to and was of sound mind," the petition said. Salve approached senior police officials and sought a month's medical leave to undergo the surgery. "Last week, the superintendent of police (SP) of Beed district informed the petitioner that she cannot undergo sex reassignment surgery and refused to grant her leave," the petition said. The said decision was violative of the petitioner's fundamental rights, the petition contended.
