Legal Aid
In recognition of the law as a tool of empowerment and the barriers to legal representation by marginalised individuals, we provide free and comprehensive legal aid to queer, trans and non-binary persons who have and continue to face significant barriers to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms secured under the Constitution of India, the Transgender Persons Act, and several other statutes in force in the country.
The Clinic’s legal aid centre was established in 2013 and since then we have received several requests for assistance with targeted legal interventions on key issues including legal name and gender change on identity documents, equal opportunities in education and employment, and fair housing. Our dedicated network of pro-bono lawyers has been a key resource for delivering on these requests.
Contact Professor Dipika Jain and Sneha Mukherjee at lmclinic@jgu.edu.in for legal assistance and queries.
Court Interventions
In addition to on-ground legal interventions and legal counselling, the Clinic also provides pro-bono legal assistance with court interventions. We are currently litigating two cases, one before the Delhi High Court for change of name and gender in educational documents for a transgender woman and the other before the Supreme Court of India for unlawful termination. and discrimination in employment.
We successfully litigated a case before the Delhi High Court in 2023 for a transwoman, who challenged the rejection of a certificate of identity under Section 6 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. The District Magistrate refused the certificate on grounds of lack of medical and residential proof.
Legal Counselling and Interventions
The Law and Marginalisation Clinic has legally assisted in 92 cases for trans-justice and reproductive justice. 41 of these cases were for legal counselling of transgender persons who seek legal remedies for rights violations. After counselling, we only legally intervene (through representations, RTIs, visits to government offices, legal notices, court proceedings et al.) on the option of the client. We have legally intervened and counselled clients for issues that range from the issue of transgender identity cards, change of name and gender in official documents, negligence in gender-affirmative surgery, violence and harassment, sex work and discrimination in education and employment.
Legal Aid Desk with India HIV/AIDs Alliance
Alliance India organised the ‘Sahas Holistic Camps for Transgender Persons’ in September and November 2023. These camps aimed at providing holistic health and wellness check-ups and social and financial entitlements for the transgender community.
CJLS provided legal aid at the legal help desk in the camp to assist people with their legal grievances. These grievances included inquiring about the status of their application for their transgender or binary ID cards as well as informing people about their rights and legal protections for issues such as sexual and physical violence, discrimination in education and employment and access to housing and social security schemes. We also provided legal counselling to transgender persons of their rights and entitlements under the NALSA judgment and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019, and its 2020 rules.