Telangana High Court questions absence of ‘third gender’ option on police recruitment portal

The counsel for the petitioner submitted in the Telangana High Court that the online application portal currently provides only two gender options, male and female, thereby excluding transgender people.

Telangana High Court, transgender rights, third gender, online application form, NALSA vs Union of India,

The petitioner applied for the job in response to a notification issued on November 14, 2025. (File photo)

The Telangana High Court on Tuesday sought responses from the state government and the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board (TSLPRB) to a plea filed by a transgender woman who is unable to apply for a post in the forensic department owing to the lack of a “third gender” category in the online application form.

Representing the petitioner, counsel A Satyasiri submitted that the online application portal provided only two gender options, male and female, thereby excluding transgender people. The counsel argued that this exclusion violates the landmark Supreme Court judgment in NALSA vs. Union of India, which recognised the right to self-identification of gender, as well as the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019.

The petitioner has also sought to declare Rule 22 of the Telangana State and Subordinate Rules 1996 as unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution for failing to provide reservations for transgender people.

It was also brought to the court’s notice that a 2018 PIL petition had resulted in directions for the state to frame a policy regarding reservation for transgender people. However, the policy has not yet been implemented, leading to the filing of a contempt case, which is currently pending, the counsel added.

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“The immediate difficulty is that the last date for application is December 18, and the petitioner cannot register,” the counsel said, seeking an interim direction to allow the petitioner to apply as a “transgender woman”.

The petitioner applied for the job in response to a notification issued on November 14, 2025.

The court directed the counsel for the state and the TSLPRB to explain why the “third gender” option was missing despite prior judicial orders. The petitioner’s counsel was directed to produce copies of the NALSA judgment, the order in the 2018 PIL petition, and the relevant sections of the 2019 Act regarding self-identification.

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The matter has been posted for further hearing on Friday to allow the state time to respond before the application deadline expires.

Rahul V Pisharody

Rahul V Pisharody is Assistant Editor with the Indian Express Online and has been reporting for IE on various news developments from Telangana since 2019. He is currently reporting on legal matters from the Telangana High Court. Rahul started his career as a journalist in 2011 with The New Indian Express and worked in different roles at the Hyderabad bureau for over 8 years. As Deputy Metro Editor, he was in charge of the Hyderabad bureau of the newspaper and coordinated with the team of city reporters, district correspondents, other centres and internet desk for over three years. A native of Palakkad in Kerala, Rahul has a Master's degree in Communication (Print and New Media) from the University of Hyderabad and a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore. ... Read More