‘Certificate of Identity’ issued under Transgender Persons Act will be Treated as Valid Documentation for Applying for a PAN Card: Centre Tells SC

Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) of India suggested that the Union of India should include provisions that allow certificates for identity and gender change issued by the District Magistrate under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, as valid documentation for applying for a PAN (Permanent Account Number) card. This was observed while disposing of a Special Leave Petition seeking relief for members of the LGBTQ community regarding the process for a PAN card. The Centre told the top court that a certificate of identity issued by the District Magistrate under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, will be treated as valid documentation for applying for a PAN card. 

The bench constituting Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah said, “During the pendency of this petition, we sought a reply from Union of India, who has been very supportive in this matter and by and large has accepted all the demands which have been raised in the present petition including the one, that the certificate to be issued under Section 6/7 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 (deals with the issue of certificates of identity and changes in gender) will be acceptable, if it is given by the District Magistrate. Since the Union of India has in principle accepted this request, Union of India may consider incorporating in Rules as well, in order to bring clarity.” The bench was hearing a 2018 plea filed by a transgender alleging that the linking of PAN with Aadhar was not possible as unlike the Aadhaar card, the PAN card has no third-gender option.