CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ordered the Tamil Nadu government and the Uniformed Staff Service Recruitment Board to respond to a petition seeking special reservations for trans persons in Sub Inspector selection.

Trans activist, writer, and founder of Trans Rights Now Collective Grace Banu and Rizwan Bharathi moved the Madras High Court (MHC) seeking to direct the State to grant special reservations for trans persons in the Sub inspector selection exam.

The case was listed before the first division bench of the MHC comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Audikesavalu.

The petitioners said that on May 5, 2023, the Uniformed Staff Service Recruitment Board announced the recruitment of 615 vacant sub-inspector posts. However the announcement sans the age limit relaxation for the third genders like it is given to the most backward, backward, and SC/ST candidates, the petitioner added. Likewise, relaxation in the physical fitness test for the trans persons was denied, and sought to cancel the recruitment announcement, further demanding a new announcement with special reservations for trans persons.

After all the submissions the bench directed the State and the Uniformed Staff Service Recruitment Board to respond to the petition and adjourned the petition to September 26, 2023, for further hearings.