Balancing Dignity With Constitutional Structure. Limits And Challenges In The Recognition Of LGBTQ+ Claims Under Indian Law
- IJLLR Journal
- Feb 17
- 1 min read
Krutarth Vyas, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), Institute of Law, Nirma University
Sakshi Chaplot, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), Institute of Law, Nirma University
ABSTRACT
Recent constitutional jurisprudence in India has made significant strides in expanding the recognition of dignity, privacy, and identity rights of persons belonging to the LGBTQ+ community, especially by decisions such as National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India. and Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India. These advancements primarily guarantee the formal equality of individuals and their personal autonomy; however, it is worth noting that the granting of some claimed entitlements may raise complex constitutional and structural issues. The Indian Constitution makes a clear distinction between universal fundamental rights on the one hand, and specific positive measures such as reservations, protective classifications, and gender, specific safeguards on the other, each of which operates within set doctrinal and administrative limits. This paper attempts to throw light on whether all the demands for legal recognition can be satisfied by the existing frameworks alone. It identifies and discusses the challenges of self-identified gender and legal certainty, the incompatibility of fluid identity with birth, based reservation models, the drafting dilemmas inside gender, specific criminal and protective laws, and the tension between judicial declarations and legislative implementation. This paper argues that while equality and dignity for LGBTQ+ persons should be considered as the non-negotiable constitutional guarantees, the actualization of certain entitlements will call for prudent statutory design and balanced regulation, rather than indiscriminate extension. A nuanced, structurally sound approach is thus necessary in order to reconcile individual rights with constitutional limitations and the competing social interests.
