SC Allows Transwoman To Apply For Delhi Govt Teacher Recruitment, Seeks Response On Wider Plea

Last Updated:April 11, 2026, 08:11 IST

Granting interim relief, the court permitted Kaushik to submit her application as a transgender candidate through the DSSSB’s Online Application Registration System (OARS) portal.

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed a transwoman to apply under the “transgender" category for recruitment as a teacher in Delhi government schools and agreed to examine her wider plea seeking separate vacancies and a comprehensive recruitment policy for transgender persons in public employment under the Delhi government.

The order came on a petition filed by 31-year-old Jane Kaushik. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan issued notice to the Delhi government, the Directorate of Education (DoE), the Department of Social Welfare, the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB), and the Union government.

Granting interim relief, the court permitted Kaushik to submit her application as a transgender candidate through the DSSSB’s Online Application Registration System (OARS) portal. Her counsel had pointed out that the platform still restricts applicants to the binary gender options of “male" and “female".

“We grant the same relief," the bench said, referring to an earlier order passed by a single judge of the Delhi High Court allowing Kaushik to apply under the transgender category.

The court was told that Kaushik had already registered on the OARS portal but could not proceed with her application because the portal only listed the categories “male" and “female".

Taking note of the relief granted while the matter was pending before the high court, the bench extended similar protection and ensured that her application would not be rejected on the basis of gender classification.

Kaushik’s petition raises broader concerns about the recognition of transgender persons in public employment and the lack of provisions for their inclusion in recruitment processes. She has sought directions to notify separate vacancies for transgender candidates in teaching posts, frame a dedicated recruitment policy, and grant relaxations in age and qualifications in accordance with statutory mandates.

Her plea also calls for the implementation of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and the Rules framed in 2020, which mandate non-discrimination in employment and require institutions to ensure equal opportunity.

The issue had earlier been examined by the Delhi High Court. In January 2023, a single judge bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh permitted Kaushik to apply for teaching posts as a transgender candidate and directed that her application be processed regardless of gender specifications in vacancy notifications.

The high court had noted that Kaushik, who holds degrees in political science, education and early childhood care, was unable to apply for teaching posts due to exclusionary recruitment notifications and limitations in the application portal.

In an October 2025 judgment, the Supreme Court described the statutory protections available to transgender persons as a “dead letter" because of poor implementation.

It had also constituted an eight-member advisory committee headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice Asha Menon to formulate an Equal Opportunity Policy covering employment, education, healthcare and other sectors.

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