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HC seeks govt reply on plea seeking separate toilets for transpersons
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Monday sought the response of the Centre, Delhi government and civic bodies on a plea seeking construction of separate washrooms for the third gender on the ground that absence of separate public toilets for transgenders make them prone to sexual assault and harassment
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Monday sought the response of the Centre, Delhi government and civic bodies on a plea seeking construction of separate washrooms for the third gender on the ground that absence of separate public toilets for transgenders make them prone to sexual assault and harassment.
A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notices to the authorities on the petition filed by final year law student Jasmine Kaur Chhabra, who claimed that no separate toilets have been constructed for the third gender in the city despite the Centre releasing funds for the same.
The petition said that people, including men, women and transgenders, feel uncomfortable and hesitate when the third gender uses the washrooms which are made for others, the plea said, adding that this also violates the ‘right to privacy’ of the third gender.
“There are no separate toilet facilities for transgenders, they have to use male toilets where they are prone to sexual assault and harassment. Discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation or gender identity, therefore, impairs equality before law and equal protection of law and violates Article 14 of the Constitution,” said the petition.
The counsel for the authorities sought time to seek instructions and file their replies, following which the matter was listed for September 13.
The petition said that cities like Mysore, Bhopal and Ludhiana have already built separate public washrooms for them but the national capital is still seen nowhere taking such an initiative.
The petition further added that every human being, of any gender, has some basic human rights, including facilities for using separate toilets and it is not fundamentally or morally correct to ask any specific gender to use a public toilet which is made for another gender.
