Delhi HC asks Centre to list steps to include data on transgender prisoners

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday wanted to know from the Centre what steps it had taken to include data on transgender prisoners in its latest prison statistics report of 2019 and in the future.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan asked additional solicitor general (ASG) Chetan Sharma what the government had done on the matter which was brought to its attention in September this year.

The ASG said the matter is being examined by an expert committee after which the court asked them to take instructions and inform it by December 7 on what has been done.

“Take instructions and let us know by December 7. Else we will call the committee here,” the bench said.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by Karan Tripathi, an independent researcher in the field of criminal justice and criminology, seeking a direction to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to “make requisite policy and format amendment to include data on transgender prisoners either in the latest Prison Statistics Report, 2019 (through revision)” or “incorporate it in subsequent reports, which will be published in the coming years”.

Appearing for Tripathi, advocate Akhil Hasija sought a direction to the central government to ensure the prison authorities and departments “maintain data on transgender prisoners/inmates in each and every document/report required to be maintained by them”.