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Three transgender people have filed an appeal asking for a one percent horizontal reservation for transgender candidates.
In a ruling on a plea seeking horizontal reservation for transgender students in postgraduate medical college seats that are determined by the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET PG), the Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice [Kiran AR and ors v. Union of India and ors].
Three transgender people filed a plea seeking a one percent quota for transgender candidates in postgraduate medical seats, and a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan served notice on the plea.
According to the students, the announcement for the next NEET-PG 2025–2026 exam breaches the Supreme Court's historic 2014 decision in National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) v. Union of India.
The petitioners recalled that the top court had ordered the government to treat transgender people as a socially and educationally backward class and to give them various reservations in public employment and entrance to schools in the NALSA ruling.
The plea further claims that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which requires the government to guarantee the full and effective participation of transgender people in society, was also violated by the NEET PG notifications that were sent out in April for the administration of the next exam edition.
By violating Articles 14 (right to equality), 15 (right against non-discrimination), 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression), and 21 (right to life) of the Indian Constitution, the petitioners have argued that this year's NEET PG admission notice is unlawful.
As a result, the petitioners have requested that the Court order the release of a new NEET PG admissions announcement that allows for the horizontal allocation of seats for transgender individuals in PG medical seats.
"In the absence of horizontal reservations, the petitioners, who are (among) the few transgender persons in the country who are pursuing/ have completed MBBS and are planning to pursue their postgraduation, would be deprived of equal opportunity with no specific reservation being extended to them to ensure representation of transgender persons in postgraduate medical education despite transgender persons facing several social barriers,"
the petition contends.
Additionally, the Court has been asked to postpone the April 16 NEET PG admissions notification until it makes a decision.
One student from the Scheduled Caste (SC), one from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), and one from the General/Open category are among the petitioners.
Through Advocate Paras Nath Singh, the petition was filed.
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