The Bombay High Court has ruled that a transgender person who chooses to be a woman by undergoing gender reassignment surgery can seek relief under the Domestic Violence Act, upholding a lower court order directing a man to pay maintenance to his estranged wife, who was initially a transgender person. In a March 16 order, a single bench of Justice Amit Borkar stated that the term “woman” is no longer limited to the binary of women and men and also includes transgender people who have changed their sex in accordance with how they identify themselves.
Justice Borkar pointed out that section 2(f) of the DV Act, which defines a domestic relationship, is gender neutral and thus includes people of all sexual orientations. The order stated that there is no doubt that a transgender person or either a male or female who has undergone a sex change operation is entitled to the gender of their choice.
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