The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said it prima facie agreed with the order passed by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) directing the state government to create a provision for transgenders in the application form for posts under the home department.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja was hearing a petition filed by the Maharashtra government against the tribunal's order dated November 14 and seeking an urgent stay on the same.
The government requested the HC to quash the tribunal's order as it was illegal and bad in law.
The government claimed it was "extremely difficult" to implement the tribunal's direction as it is yet to form a policy regarding special provisions for the recruitment of transgenders.
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The bench, however, noted it was prima facie agreed with the order passed by the tribunal.
"The Supreme Court has already asked all States to make provision for the third gender. Just because you (the government) don't have a policy yet, you cannot deny (job prospects for the third gender persons)," Chief Justice Datta said.
"You have to introduce the changes. Make provisions..carry on with the process," he added.
A transgender person, Arya Pujari, who aspired to be a police constable, had approached the MAT after she couldn't fill out the online form for the post of police constable as only two genders- male and female- were mentioned in the form.
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The MAT on November 14 directed the state government to create a third option for transgenders in the application form for all vacancies under the state Home department and make necessary changes in its advertisement and display the same on its website by November 23.
The tribunal also said the government should fix criteria for physical standards and tests for transgenders.
On November 25, the MAT extended the deadline for the acceptance of forms of transgenders till December 8 after it was informed by Chief Presenting Officer SP Manchekar that the government was still in the process of drafting the policy for employing transgender persons in public posts.
-With PTI Input
