WDII moves SC to scrap transgender recognition, draws sharp rebuke from community

New Delhi- Women’s Declaration International India (WDII) has approached the Supreme Court seeking the withdrawal of legal recognition of transgender persons and the decriminalisation of abuse against them, using language widely criticised as anti-transgender hate rhetoric.

The petition has been filed through the prominent law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, which has publicly claimed to be trans-inclusive. Transgender activist Jane Kaushik has strongly condemned the move, calling it “a full-frontal attack on our existence and identity.”

In a statement issued on Thursday, Kaushik said the petition is “deeply personally offensive” as it repeatedly refers to her as a male and uses the term “biological male.” She noted that the Supreme Court, in its judgment in Jane Kaushik v. Union of India (2025 INSC 1248), had categorically recognised her as a transgender woman and upheld her certificate of identity as a transgender person.

“My identity is neither the business of the WDII nor up for comment by its lawyers. While it is clear that the WDII and its lawyers have no respect for me, it is glaringly obvious that they have no respect for the Supreme Court as well,” she said.

Kaushik further alleged that the petition deliberately mischaracterises the facts of her own case. According to her, the petition claims she experienced body shaming and abuse due to the discomfort of other residents of a women’s hostel at one of the schools involved in the litigation. “The school in question never made such an argument, nor did the Supreme Court give such a finding,” she stated. She clarified that she had faced transphobic abuse from staff and students of the schools against which she had filed the petition. The WDII petition, she said, effectively rewrites her experience “to create an artificial clash between the rights of transwomen and cisgender women.”

Kaushik said the petition builds on “centuries of transphobia in this country.” She asserted that transgender persons have already overcome numerous obstacles to live as themselves and will continue to do so. “Neither State nor any foreign driven agenda can ever define or erase us,” she added.