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Transgender candidate Amaya Prasad has approached the Kerala High Court seeking permission to contest the upcoming Jilla Panchayat election from a seat reserved for women in the Pothenkode Division. Justice PV Kunhikrishnan issued notice to the State Election Commission and has asked for their response on her petition.

Prasad, reportedly the first transgender person to seek election in Kerala, contended that her nomination was in danger of being rejected because, under current laws, there is no explicit provision allowing transgender women to contest from women-reserved seats. She argued that her gender status as certified by the District Collector and District Magistrate as ‘female’ under Section 5 of the Transgender Persons Act, 2019, should be sufficient to entitle her to contest.

Her petition highlights that her voter ID still lists her as transgender, despite her gender being legally recognized as female, and she requested that election authorities accept her identity for contesting the reserved seats. She also sought a declaration that a transgender woman with a legally recognized female identity is entitled to contest in such reserved seats, pointing to a similar ruling by the Bombay High Court in 2021 that affirmed the rights of transgender women to contest from reserved constituencies.

Prasad’s counsel assured the Court that they would immediately take steps to update her voter ID details accordingly. The case raises important questions regarding the inclusion of transgender women in electoral reservations and the legal recognition of their gender identity for electoral purposes.