Telangana High Court feels National Medical Commission is gender insensitive

A transgender person had approached the High Court challenging the Post Graduation Regulation of Medical Council of India

Hyderabad: A two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N Tukaramji, dealing with a matter pertaining to a transgender doctor on Monday, observed that the attitude of the National Medical Commission (NMC) was gender insensitive.

Koyyala Ruth John Paul, a transgender person had approached the High Court challenging the Post Graduation Regulation of Medical Council of India.

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The petitioner’s counsel, K Sagarika, said the petitioner was considered as a woman and contended that not considering the reservation for transgender persons in accordance with the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of National Legal Services Authority v union of India was illegal.

Not only members of the transgender community are required to be treated as third gender, but a direction has been issued by the Supreme Court to the Central and the State governments to take steps to treat them as Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of citizens and extend all kinds of reservation in cases of admission to educational institutions and for public appointments, she said.

The NMC on the other hand said the petitioner had already availed reservation under the Scheduled Caste category and what she was seeking now was a reservation within reservation as a member of the third gender.

The bench then directed the NMC to produce before court the cut off marks pertaining to SC and OBC category in NEET-PG-2023. It also directed the State Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department to submit its stand on the matter.

The bench adjourned the case to Tuesday for further hearing.