On the day the Calcutta High Court heard a petition claiming that a transgender would not be able to apply for the job of its assistant registrar since there were options for choosing only male and female gender categories, an addendum was issued by its administration on Wednesday adding 'Others' in the application form. The addendum to the employment notification of September 18 for "recruitment in the post of assistant registrar (direct recruit from legal profession), High Court, Original Side, Calcutta", said that another box, namely"Others", is being added for seeking information from the applicants about their gender status.
Petitioner Ankani Biswas is a lawyer enrolled with the Bar Council of West Bengal and practises at the Calcutta High Court and some district courts. Through lawyer Indrajit Dey, Biswas claimed that since there are options for only males and females for filling up gender status in the application form, it would not be possible for the petitioner to apply "owing to the fact that the petitioner identifies as a transgender." (sic) The petitioner prayed for urgent intervention by the court.
Taking up the petition on Wednesday, Justice R K Kapur adjourned hearing on the petition till October 5 on a prayer by the lawyer for the Calcutta High Court for seeking instructions. Justice Kapur granted time till October 5 and directed that the matter must be listed for hearing before the appropriate bench on that date since it is the last date for filing the application.
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