The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently requested responses from the State governments of Punjab and Haryana, as well as the Union Territory of Chandigarh, regarding a petition seeking separate toilets for transgender individuals in prisons. The case, titled Sunpreet Singh v UOI & Ors, was heard by a Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji, who issued notice and scheduled the matter for a hearing on July 29.
The court’s order dated May 8 stated, “Keeping in view the issue involved, let State of Haryana and Union Territory, Chandigarh be also impleaded as respondents through Secretaries, Department of Home. Counsel for the petitioner shall file amended Memo of Parties. Keeping in view the above, let formal notice of motion be issued.”
The plea was lodged in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in National Legal Services Authority v Union of India, which affirmed that fundamental rights under the Constitution of India apply equally to transgender persons.
During the proceedings, the petitioner also referenced a judgment from the Patna High Court in Law Foundation v State Of Bihar, wherein the court directed the Bihar government to ensure strict adherence to the guidelines issued by the Government of India for housing members of the transgender community in jails.
In August of last year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court introduced separate toilets for transgender individuals within the High Court campus. This development followed a letter sent by advocate Maninderjit Singh to the High Court administration in 2021 advocating for the provision of separate facilities. Subsequently, Singh wrote to Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud in 2022, urging for the implementation of separate toilets for transgender individuals in all judicial buildings and Constitutional courts across India.
The petitioner appeared in person, while Senior Advocate Dheeraj Jain and government Advocate Shivani Khareedi represented the Union of India, and Additional Advocate General (AG) Saurav Khurana appeared for the State of Punjab.
