HC lets 21-year-old go for sex change surgery

The Bombay HC on Monday allowed 21-year-old Guwahati resident Bidhan Barua to go ahead with a sex change surgery if he so desired.

The Bombay HC on Monday allowed 21-year-old Guwahati resident Bidhan Barua to go ahead with a sex change surgery if he so desired.

HT Image

"He (Barua) is an adult and can take his own decisions. There is no law which prohibits a sex change operation," the court observed.

Barua, who thinks he is a woman trapped in a man's body, had come to Mumbai last month for a sex change surgery. His surgery had been scheduled on April 17 at the Saifee hospital.

However, his parents allegedly threatened the doctors and stalled his operation. The hospital also refused to operate upon him until it got a nod from the court. Barua then filed a petition in the high court on April 25 seeking his parents be restrained from stopping the operation.

He had also written to the Chief Justice of India and the National Human Rights Commission urging them to grant him a favourable order.

The court ruled on the petition after both the state and the Union governments said they did not have any objection to the surgery.

Barua's father, Supti Ranjan Barua, said from Guwahati: "We will keep all options open, including challenging the court directive." Last week, after the court adjourned Barua's case, he had threatened to commit suicide if his petition was not heard immediately.

The court had then warned Barua's counsel that he cannot pressurise the judges.