India: NCRB to include transpersons as separate category in prison statistics, Delhi HC told

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has agreed to include transgender as a separate category in the gender classification of prisoners in their annual publication of prison statistics 2020, it informed the Delhi High Court on Monday.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told a Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan that the NCRB will include transgender in the gender classification of prisoners in their annual publication of prison statistics 2020.

Accordingly, gender classification of the prisoners will be classified as Male, Female, and Transgender in the Prison Statistics India proforma and Annexures. A direction was issued to the concerned officials to prepare transgender data in the gender classification of prisoners while collecting Prison Statistics India-2020.

After hearing the submission, the bench disposed of the public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to the National Crime Records Bureau to recognise and classify transgenders as a separate third gender in their annual publication of prison statistics.

The court was hearing the PIL, filed by law graduate Karan Tripathi, who sought immediate and urgent intervention of the court as the process of data collection for the next annual publication of the Prison Statistics report 2020 by the NCRB, which is already underway.

Tripathi’s advocates Yash Mishra and Akhil Hasija urged the Delhi High Court to issue directions to the concerned prison authorities and departments to maintain data on transgender prisoners/inmates in each and every document or report required to be maintained by the authorities concerned and departments as per laws applicable.

The plea said that to date, only two genders appear in the Prison Statistics India report published by the NCRB – male and female – to the complete exclusion of the third gender.

“In light of the growing neglect towards the welfare of the transgender community, especially during the COVID-19 and denial of basic necessities to the transgender community in general, it is difficult to imagine the state of transgender prisoners in jails where they are not even recognised as a third gender on paper, let alone in the reality behind the bars,” the plea said.

It also sought the formulation of appropriate rules and laws that will govern the protection of rights of the marginalised transgender community in the prisons.