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New Delhi: A Supreme Court-appointed advisory committee had sent a resolution to the Modi government asking it to “withdraw” the contentious Transgender Persons (Amendment) Bill, 2026, on March 20, days before the parliament passed the Bill amid opposition protests, The Wire has learnt. 

The Bill cleared parliament on Wednesday (March 25), following its passage in the Rajya Sabha amid sustained criticism. Earlier on Tuesday, the Lok Sabha passed the Bill by voice vote amid opposition protests.

Following the Supreme Court’s verdict on Jane Kaushik v. Union of India, in which the court awarded compensation to a transgender woman, while flagging the failure of the Union and state governments to implement existing legal protections for transgender persons, an advisory committee was formed in October to frame an equal opportunity policy for increasing the participation of transgender persons in workplaces and public spaces. The committee was led by former Delhi high court Justice Asha Menon. 

The advisory committee met on March 20 and discussed the issues with the proposed amendments to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, The Wire has learnt. It zeroed in on the proposed definition limiting transgender identities to only the specified congenital........

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