Date:- 17.10.2025
Case Title : – JANE KAUSHIK vs UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.
Citation : – W.P.(C) No. 1405/2023
Hon’ble Supreme Court Bench : – Justice JB Pardiwala & Justice R Mahadevan
The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has given a major judgment in favour of Jane Kaushik, a transwoman teacher who was removed from her job by two private schools one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Gujarat, only because of her gender identity.
- The Hon’ble Court held that such termination was discriminatory and violated her fundamental rights to equality, dignity, and livelihood. The Hon’ble Court also ordered that compensation be paid to Jane Kaushik for the mental agony and injustice she suffered.
- The Hon’ble Court also constituted a Committee to be headed by Justice Asha Menon, retired judge of the Delhi High Court, to formulate an equal opportunity policy for the protection of the rights of transgender persons.
- The Committee includes transgender rights activists Akai Padmashali, Grace Banu, and Vyjayanthi Vasanta Mogli; academic expert Gaurav Mandal from Jindal Global University; policy expert Nithya Rajshekhar; and Dr. Sanjay Sharma, former CEO of the Association for Transgender Health in India. Senior government officials, including the Secretaries of the Ministries of Social Justice, Women & Child Development, Health, and Education will be ex-officio members of the Committee.
- The Hon’ble Court also laid down interim guidelines to protect transgender persons from workplace discrimination, directing that all establishments must follow these rules until the Union Government releases a formal policy.
The Hon’ble Court stated that the Court had taken serious note of the way Jane Kaushik was treated and hoped that the new guidelines would help in securing equality and dignity for all transgender persons.
