The Telangana High Court on Thursday, July 22, expressed its displeasure with the Telangana government for not implementing reservations for transgenders in educational institutions, as stated by The New Indian Express.
A division bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili and Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwara Rao, reprimanded the Telangana government for its delay in complying with the Supreme Court orders regarding the extension of reservations to transgenders in educational institutions and public appointments.
The court was dealing with a petition filed by Dr Ruthu John Paul, a member of the transgender community who completed MBBS in 2017 and sought to join a postgraduate (PG) course in gynaecology through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
During the counselling for PG course, the National Medical Council (NMC) considered her only under the Scheduled Caste (SC) category since the state government had not yet extended reservations to transgenders.
Aggrieved by this, Dr Ruthu John Paul approached the high court, which on June 20, issued orders directing the government to extend reservation to the petitioner under the transgender quota, in addition to the SC quota. However, despite the court's orders, the government has not implemented the decision, forcing the petitioner to approach the court again.
Senior counsel L Ravichander, representing Dr Ruthu John Paul, informed the court that no steps had been taken by the government to comply with the earlier orders on extending reservations to the transgender community.
Expressing anger at the government's attitude, Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili questioned the government counsel about the delay in implementing the reservations. He expressed concern that the government's inaction had forced the petitioner to approach the court multiple times. Such attitude, he warned, could undermine the functioning of both executive and judiciary.
In response to the government counsel's request for one week's time to inform the government, the court adjourned the case to July 27.
