The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 was a proposed Act of the Parliament of India, introduced as a private member's Bill. It was created to provide for the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive national policy for the welfare of transgender persons. The Bill's origin lies in the landmark Supreme Court judgment, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) v. Union of India, delivered on April 15, 2014. The NALSA judgment recognized transgender persons as the "Third Gender" and affirmed their constitutional right to self-identify their gender.
The Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2014 by DMK MP Tiruchi Siva and was unanimously passed by the House on April 24, 2015. Key provisions of the Bill included the right to be recognized as a transgender person and the prohibition of discrimination in education, employment, and healthcare. Crucially, it mandated 2% reservation for transgender persons in educational institutions and government jobs (Clauses 21 and 22) and proposed the establishment of a National Commission for Transgender Persons (Chapter VII).
The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 was not enacted into law. It was eventually replaced by the government-introduced Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. The 2019 Act, which is the current law, was criticized for deviating from the 2014 Bill's spirit, particularly by being silent on the reservation recommended by the NALSA judgment and by requiring a District Magistrate's certificate for identity recognition, which was seen as contradicting the right to self-determination of gender.