
The diversity of families: Kerala HC does well to back transgender co-parenting
In a reassuring affirmation of dignity and equality, the Kerala High Court has recognised a transgender couple from Kozhikode as the legal 'parents' of their biological child. The transgender man who gave birth in 2023, and his partner, had sought recognition as co-parents without gender-binary labels so that their child's future — especially with regard to identification documents and school admission — is not impeded. While the Court declined to read down the format mentioned in the Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 1999, saying that this was a 'rare and exceptional' case, it has directed authorities to issue a birth certificate that reflects the gender-neutral term instead of the conventional 'father' and 'mother'. In its observation, the Court emphasised that in certain instances, 'social justice adjudication' must take precedence over an 'adversarial approach'. In doing so, it broadened the legal imagination around family, gender, and parenthood.
In August 2022, granting maternity leave to a central government employee who had previously availed it for the care of her step-children, a bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna had observed that 'atypical' families are equally deserving of legal protections and social welfare benefits. 'The black letter of the law must not be relied upon to disadvantage families which are different from traditional ones,' they had held. The apex court's refusal to extend civil union or joint adoption rights to LGBTQIA+ couples and its deferral of substantive rights to legislative reform — despite acknowledging queer love and lived discrimination — however, has come as a setback after years of progressive milestones, such as the 2014 NALSA verdict recognising the rights of transgender persons and the 2018 Navtej Johar ruling that decriminalised same-sex relations. In such circumstances, the Kerala High Court's verdict offers a template for affirming queer parenthood within the existing legal framework — and places the child at the centre of that empathetic recognition. It asserts that constitutional dignity cannot wait for political consensus.
Days after the Kerala HC verdict, the Madras High Court, while ruling on a habeas corpus petition by a woman forcibly estranged from her lesbian partner, upheld her right to 'find a family'. 'The concept of a 'chosen family' is now well-settled and acknowledged in LGBTQIA+ jurisprudence,' the division bench said. In a country grappling with entrenched social prejudices, these affirmations of diversity reflect a welcome judicial sensitivity to the complexities and plurality of lived experience. They validate, with quiet strength, the right to belong — not as a privilege granted conditionally by tradition, but a truth that embraces every identity, even those that challenge convention.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hindu
7 hours ago
- The Hindu
Recover all expenses in the wake of two ship accidents from owner firms, says Kerala HC
All expenses, including those towards compensation and mitigating pollution, in the wake of the two ship accidents off the Kerala coast in the past fortnight must be recovered from the owner firms of the vessels, and must not be met by the public exchequer, the Kerala High Court has said. Along with the Centre, the State government can also initiate measures for this. Any further delay will set a wrong precedent, the court said, in a public interest litigation filed by T.N. Pratapan, former MP, seeking compensation for fishers and others affected by the sinking of MSC Elsa 3 – a Liberia-flagged container vessel that was carrying hazardous and other cargo, off the Alappuzha coast on May 25. This was followed by a massive fire that has been raging in Singapore-flagged container ship Wan Hai 503 off the Beypore coast since Monday, and the toppling of many containers, including those with hazardous cargo. Calculating damage The counsel for Mr. Pratapan said that with the intensifying of the monsoon, the salvaging of containers from the vessels and the sea could become tougher. The government's counsel said that the extent of damage caused by the ship disasters was being calculated. He added that the Centre had powers to initiate action, under the Merchant Shipping Act. To this the court responded that coastal States also enjoyed wide-ranging powers, and the District Collectors too can take action. An amicus curiae would be appointed to help the court in this regard.


The Hindu
8 hours ago
- The Hindu
Restore Section 13 on loan waivers in Disaster Management Act, CM writes to PM
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to restore Section 13 of the Disaster Management Act related to relief in loan repayment for victims of disaster. Mr. Vijayan pointed out in the letter that the removal of this Section, which was included in the law with purely humanitarian considerations, will further distress the victims of natural disasters. The Chief Minister wrote to the Prime Minister in the context of the Union Government informing the Kerala High Court that the law does not allow the loan waiver of the victims of the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslides in Wayanad district, citing the amendment made in March 2025 to the Disaster Management Act. Section 13, which the Union government omitted as part of an amendment, reads — 'The National Authority may, in cases of disasters of severe magnitude, recommend relief in repayment of loans or for grant of fresh loans to the persons affected by disaster on such concessional terms as may be appropriate.' 'The above Section enables providing much needed financial relief to victims of disasters, who face unprecedented crisis and will have to rebuild their lives after incurring heavy losses. The said provision in the Disaster Management Act was included with a humanitarian intent and deleting the same amounts to putting the victims of natural disasters to added hardship,' wrote Mr. Vijayan. The CM's office said in a press release that Kerala had submitted its first memorandum to the Union government on August 17, 2024, immediately after the disaster. In addition to the memorandum, a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment was conducted and a detailed report was submitted to the Union Government on November 13, 2024. On both these occasions, Section 13 of the Disaster Management Act was in force. However, it was only much later, March 29, 2025, that the Union Government issued a gazette notification amending the Act by deleting this Section. This amendment does not have retrospective effect. Yet the Union government is taking the position that since the Act has been amended, it cannot provide assistance anymore, said the release.


The Hindu
11 hours ago
- The Hindu
Kerala shipwreck: State to file admiralty suit in High Court
The Secretary of Kerala's Disaster Management department has written to the Advocate General, to initiate action to file an admiralty suit before the Kerala High Court, regarding the sinking of container ship MSC Elsa 3 off the Alappuzha coast on May 25. The AG's advice has also been sought on action to be taken to 'arrest' any vessel of Elsa 3 Maritime Inc., MCM SA, or MSC Geneva within Kerala's waters, and the possibility of engaging a legal firm which has the expertise in maritime laws to defend the case on behalf of the State government. Furthermore, the Secretary has in a communication to the AG, sought the furnishing of documents/reports on the estimated loss (due to the sinking), as assessed by the committees constituted by the State government.