Legal Or Impracticable? The Unanswered Questions Of Marriage And Adoption Laws For The Transgender Community In India
Ashwin Satheesh and Lilian Grace Thomas, School of Law, Christ (Deemed to be) University, Bengaluru, Karnataka
ABSTRACT
The right to start a family constitutes an essential part of the right to live with a meaningful existence. India’s LGBT community has been subject to scores of extreme discrimination and violence in addition to lack of opportunities in public life since the colonial era. The contrariety and profundity of familial, societal, and cultural relations in the institution of marriage often poses difficulties with respect to transgender individuals and their civil rights. The conservative notion of marriage often overlooks several interrelated aspects, and the benefits one derives of it, particularly with regard to companionship and support. Additionally, adoption is yet another sphere wherein neither the Hindu laws nor the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 provide a clear-cut solution. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 despite being aimed at the community, has completely disregarded the vast array of civil rights, and focuses on identification and social inclusion. Present day laws neither expressly recognise nor bar such civil rights, instead it subtly excludes the community by focussing on the binary genders. This has resulted in a state of confusion as the fate of such rights are often subjected to the discretion of concerned officials. The paper explores the current laws and instances of a transgender individual’s right to marriage and adoption, and the interplay of the transgenderism movement with respect to their civil rights. It additionally looks into the various societal barriers while addressing how a piece of legislation alone would not suffice for the cause.
Keywords: Marriage, adoption, transgenderism, personal laws, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Transgender Act, 2019.
