The Supreme Court in New Delhi
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre, NCERT and six states including Maharashtra on a PIL seeking incorporation of transgender-inclusive comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in school curricula.
A bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran issued notice in the plea after hearing submissions of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who represented the petitioner.
Besides, the Centre and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), petitioner Kaavya Mukherjee Saha made Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as parties to the petition.
The court sought a response from the respondents within six weeks.
The plea claimed that textbook reviews across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka revealed systemic omissions, with partial exceptions in Kerala.
It claimed that this exclusion violated Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(a), 21, and 21A of the Constitution and disregarded directive principles under Articles 39(e)-(f), 46, and 51(c).
The plea contended that NCERT and most SCERTs have failed to incorporate structured or examinable content on gender identity, gender diversity, and the distinction between sex and gender, despite the mandates of Sections 2(d) and 13 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. It also claimed non compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court issued in judgments in cases of National Legal Services Authority Vs Union of India and Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action Vs Union of India.