News Desk: The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a transgender woman who has undergone sex-reassignment surgery does not fall within the definition of “woman” under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The section criminalises sexual intercourse with a woman through deceitful means or a false promise of marriage when the act does not amount to rape.
Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal made the observation in an order dated October 15 while granting bail to Mohd Sakir, who was accused of entering into a physical relationship with a transgender woman on the promise of marriage. A case had been registered against him at Izzatnagar police station in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh.
According to the complaint, the woman had been in a relationship with the accused for more than one-and-a-half years. She alleged that he had promised to marry her and taken more than ₹5 lakh from her before refusing to marry her.
During the hearing, the accused’s lawyer argued that the complainant had been assigned male at birth and had undergone vulval reconstruction surgery on April 11, 2023. The lawyer also referred to a medical panel report dated August 19, 2026, and argued that the legal requirements for invoking Section 69 were not met.
The court observed that transgender persons have a distinct legal identity under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. It held that the definition of “woman” under Section 2(35) of the BNS refers to a female human being and does not include transgender women for the purpose of Section 69.
The state government opposed the bail plea, arguing that a transgender woman should not be excluded from the definition simply because she was assigned male at birth and later underwent surgery.
The court also referred to a parliamentary standing committee report that had recommended bringing transgender women within the scope of the BNS rape provisions through an amendment. However, it noted that Parliament had not accepted the recommendation and the statutory definition remained unchanged.
Holding that, prima facie, no offence under Section 69 was made out in the case, the high court granted bail to Sakir subject to conditions.
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