Allahabad HC says 'kinnar' community not entitled to seek 'badhai'

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday held that members of the 'kinnar' community do not have any legal right to demand the traditional 'badhai' or 'neg' - customary monetary offerings on auspicious occasions - observing that such demands could amount to an offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai of the Lucknow bench passed the order while dismissing a writ petition filed by one Rekha Devi, a transgender person from Gonda district, who had sought demarcation of a specific territory for collecting 'neg'.

The petitioner sought to earmark an area from Kati Ka Pul in Jarwal town to Ghaghra Ghat and up to Saryu Bridge in Colonelganj as her exclusive zone, claiming she had been collecting 'badhai' there for several years.

Her counsel argued that frequent disputes and clashes occur when others from the community enter the same area and that the long-standing practice amounted to a customary right.

Rejecting the plea, the court held that any levy, tax or fee can only be collected under authority of law and the practice of collecting money in the name of 'badhai' or 'jajmani' has no legal sanction.

"Extraction money from any individual wilfully or otherwise cannot be permitted, and any citizen can only be directed to pay such amounts as are legitimately authorised by law," the bench observed.

The court also noted that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, does not provide for any such right.

Dismissing the petition, the bench said granting such a plea would effectively legitimise illegal extortion and could encourage criminal activities.

It added that such extraction has never been sanctioned by law and may attract penal provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.