Case Comment: Matam Gangabhavani v. State of Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Transgender is as a broad term that defines individuals whose gender individuality or expression is different from the culturally-bound gender linked with one’s allotted birth sex, i.e., male or female. Transgenders face extensive bias, discernment, violence and other problems of stigma and trans-phobia, i.e., abhorrence of or bias against trans-sexual or transgender people. Stigma is the social process of tagging, labelling, and declining human difference as a system of social regulator. Studying several approaches whereby transgenders face the stigma and discrimination and to comprehend circumstances and environment under which they are susceptible towards stigma is an important field of contemporary research. This paper scrutinizes the judgment by The Hon'ble Sri Justice M. Satyanarayana Murthy of the case Matam Gangabhavani vs State of Andhra Pradesh (2022 SCC Online AP 200) in the light of the nature and approach of the judgment towards the transgender society. Society is a vast term which includes various kinds of communities and judgment like Matam Gangabhavani has an effect to the society about the social stigma and the legislations by the government. The paper analyses the judgment and criticize the non-inclusive approach of the bench and also discuss the effect of such judgment to the society as a whole.