First case of sex change in Indian Civil Services: Woman IRS officer posted in Hyderabad turns man

Ministry of Finance has accepted the request of M Anusuya for change of her name to M Anukathir Surya and gender from male to female

Hyderabad: A woman Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, serving as the Joint Commissioner in the regional bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad, has turned a man.

This is said to be the first case of a sex change in the Indian Civil Services.

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The Ministry of Finance has accepted the request of M Anusuya for change of her name to M Anukathir Surya and gender from male to female.

“The request of Ms M Anusuya has been considered. Henceforth, the officer will be recognised as ‘Mr M Anukathir Surya’ in all official records,” reads the order issued by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, on July 9.

The 35-year-old officer, posted as Joint Commissioner in the office of the Chief Commissioner (Authorised Representative) of CESTAT, had joined his current posting last year.

Surya started his career as an Assistant Commissioner in Chennai in December 2013, and was promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner in 2018. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication from the Madras Institute of Technology in Chennai.

He did PG Diploma in Cyber Law and Cyber Forensics from the National Law Institute University in Bhopal in 2023.

The Supreme Court, in its judgment in the NALSA case on April 15, 2014, had recognised the third gender and ruled that gender identity is a personal choice, whether or not a person undergoes Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS).