Parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, with Rajya Sabha approving it after Lok Sabha. The bill amends the original 2019 Act, which established self-perceived gender identity, prohibited discrimination in education, employment, and healthcare, and mandated welfare boards. The 2026 amendment strengthens enforcement mechanisms and expands protected categories. The legislation engages Articles 14, 19, and 21, and mirrors constitutional principles upheld in NALSA v. Union of India, 2014, the foundational Supreme Court ruling on transgender rights.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 was itself rooted in the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in NALSA v. Union of India (2014), where a two-judge bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and A.K. Sikri recognised transgender persons as a 'third gender' and held that Articles 14, 15, 16, 19, and 21 of the Constitution apply equally to them. The court directed the government to recognise self-identified gender without surgery or medical certification and treat transgender persons as socially and educationally backward classes for reservation purposes.

The 2019 Act operationalised some of these directions but was criticised for requiring a District Magistrate's certificate to change gender — a procedural hurdle the court had rejected. The 2026 Amendment addresses these gaps.

Constitutionally, the core doctrine here is: the right to gender identity is a facet of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21, the right to expression of gender identity is protected under Article 19(1)(a), and any discriminatory classification based solely on gender identity must pass Article 14's reasonable classification test (intelligible differentia + rational nexus). NALSA also invoked Articles 15 (non-discrimination) and 16 (equality of opportunity). For CLAT PG, the examiner will test application of these articles to new fact situations involving transgender persons' access to services, employment, or education.