SC issues notice to Union and States on plea seeking Transgender-Inclusive Sexuality Education in school textbooks
The plea alleges that there has been noncompliance with the Supreme Court’s earlier judgments in NALSA (2014) and Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action (2024).
Parmod Kumar
Published on: 2 September 2025, 08:57 am
THE SUPREME COURT YESTERDAY issued notice to the Union and State Governments on a Public Interest Litigation plea by a Class XII student seeking directions for the inclusion of transgender-inclusive Comprehensive Sexuality Education (‘CSE’) in school curricula and textbooks prepared by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (‘NCERT’) and State Councils of Educational Research and Training (‘SCERTs’).
A bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran issued notice as PIL petitioner student alleged non-compliance with binding directions of the top Court in two earlier judgments in which the Court recognized transgender persons as the 'third gender' and established comprehensive legal protections, for LGBTQ+ rights by affirming the right to self-identify gender and mandating affirmative action measures.
The two judgments referred to by the PIL petitioner were the Court’s 2014 decision in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India (delivered by a bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and A.K. Sikri) ) and its judgement last year in Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action v. Union of India relating to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006.
The petitioner student has argued that NCERT and most SCERTs have failed to incorporate structured or examinable content on gender identity, gender diversity, and the distinction between sex and gender, despite statutory mandates under Sections 2(d) and 13 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
The petitioner student has argued that NCERT and most SCERTs have failed to incorporate structured or examinable content on gender identity, gender diversity, and the distinction between sex and gender.
The PIL has pointed out that textbook reviews across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka revealed systemic omissions, with Kerala being a partial exception. It has argued that such exclusion violates the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(a), 21, and 21A of the Constitution and disregards Directive Principles under Articles 39(e)–(f), 46, and 51(c).
Referring to the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education (‘ITGSE’) published by UNESCO and WHO, the petition emphasises that the framework was endorsed by the Court’s 2014 judgement in NALSA. It further underlined that despite NCERT’s development of policy documents, facilitator guides, and resource materials since 2019, these have not been integrated into core textbooks.
The petitioner has relied on an RTI reply by NCERT dated May 7, 2025, confirming that no teacher training has been conducted on transgender-inclusive sexuality education.
The plea has urged the court to direct NCERT, SCERTs, and other authorities to incorporate scientifically accurate, age-appropriate, and transgender-inclusive CSE into examinable school syllabi nationwide. It has also sought binding guidelines for the effective implementation of gender sensitisation and transgender-inclusive CSE across all educational institutions, both public and private, throughout the country.
