Transgender identity certificate will be treated as valid documentation for PAN: Centre to Supreme Court

Union of India accepts request to include third-gender category on PAN cards, easing identification for transgender individuals.

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that a 'certificate of identity' issued by the District Magistrate under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 will be treated as valid documentation for applying for a PAN card.

A Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said the Union of India has in principle accepted this request and the Union government may consider incorporating it in the rules as well in order to bring clarity.

"During the pendency of this petition, we sought a reply from Union of India, who has been very supportive in this matter and by and large has accepted all the demands which have been raised in the present petition including the one, that the certificate to be issued under Section 6/7 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 will be acceptable, if it is given by the district magistrate," the Bench noted.

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Sections 6 and 7 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 deal with the issue of certificates of identity and changes in gender. The top court was hearing a 2018 plea filed by a transgender alleging that her attempt to link her PAN with Aadhaar has failed as the PAN card has no 'third gender' option, unlike the Aadhaar card.

Reshma Prasad, a social activist from Bihar, had sought direction from the Centre to create a separate third-gender category option on PAN cards to enable transgenders like her to link it with Aadhaar to get an "accurate identity proof".

Ms. Prasad had said she had enrolled for PAN in 2012 selecting the male gender identity category and has been getting the tax return of the year 2015-16 and 2016-2017 in the category of male.