After being denied job at Air India, Supreme Court allows transgender to amend plea
Air India
Shanavi Ponnusamy alleged she was not hired by Air India because she is a transgender and the vacancies in the cabin crew were earmarked only for men or women.
The supreme court on Monday allowed hearing a transgender woman's plea against Air India for allegedly denying her a job as a cabin crew on grounds of her sexual orientation.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud allowed senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for the petitioner, to file the amendment which raised some additional issues.
"Let the matter be listed after two weeks," the bench said.
Shanavi Ponnusamy alleged she was not hired by Air India because she is a transgender and the vacancies in the cabin crew were earmarked only for men or women.
Ponnusamy, who had undergone gender surgery in 2014 to change into a woman, was born in Tamil Nadu in 1989, she said she graduated in engineering in 2010.
Shanavi concedes she applied in female category as there was no option to apply as a transgender. She argues even if it was Air India's policy that they will not give jobs to transgenders, the situation has changed after the 2014 SC judgment in NALSA case.
The petitioner said she got a call letter, appeared for group discussion and Personal Assessment tests and undertook four attempts, "but unfortunately she has not been short-listed for the post in question even though she fared well in the tests conducted".
"The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 prohibits discrimination. It is clear that no person shall discriminate against a transgender person in relation to employment or occupation," her plea said.
Citing the top court verdict of 2014, she said the apex court has given certain directions for protection of the rights of the transgenders by including a third category in documents like election card, passport, driving license and ration card, and for admission in educational institutions, hospitals, among others.
"By recognising diverse gender identities, the court has busted the dual gender structure of 'man' and 'woman' which is recognised by the society," she said in her plea.