0
0
The Supreme Court of India has issued a notice on May 5, 2025, regarding a plea seeking horizontal reservation for transgender candidates in the upcoming NEET-PG 2025 examination scheduled for June 15, 2025. The plea was filed by three transgender doctors challenging the April 16 admission notice and April 17 information bulletin issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which do not provide any reservation for transgender persons.
A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan agreed to hear the petition, which argues that the current NEET-PG notification violates the Supreme Court’s landmark 2014 NALSA judgment. That verdict recognized transgender persons as socially and educationally backward classes and directed the government to extend reservations in education and public employment to them.
Senior Advocate Indira Jaising, representing the petitioners, emphasized that despite the 2014 ruling, neither the Centre nor the states have implemented any reservation scheme for transgender individuals in postgraduate medical admissions. The plea calls for quashing the existing admission notice and issuing a fresh one that includes a 1% horizontal reservation for transgender candidates across all vertical categories (General, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes).
The petition highlights that without such horizontal reservations, transgender aspirants face significant social barriers and are deprived of equal opportunities in medical education. It also cites constitutional protections under Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(a), and 21, and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which mandates inclusion of transgender persons in education and employment.
The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre, states, Union Territories, and regulatory bodies including the National Medical Commission, seeking their responses. The matter is posted for hearing after two weeks.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information available as of May 5, 2025. The case is ongoing, and further developments may occur. Readers are advised to consult official sources for the latest updates.
Citations:
