On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court instructed the Centre, Delhi Police, and the Delhi government to develop a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). This SOP will govern the arrest, detention, search, interrogation, and imprisonment of transgender individuals. The court’s directive aims to ensure that the rights of transgender persons are protected during legal processes.
The direction was issued in a petition filed by student Taaran Chandna, seeking directions to the Centre, Delhi Police and the Delhi government to formulate and implement an SOP for the arrest and search of a transgender person. Chandna further said that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026, despite substantially revising the definition of a transgender person and the certification process, remains silent on police arrest and search protocols.
The arrest and personal search of transgender persons without any procedure for ascertaining, acknowledging or accommodating their gender identity, the petition said, constituted a direct, concrete and continuing violation of multiple fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution of India, as interpreted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court across decades of authoritative jurisprudence.
