Karnataka offers reservation in jobs for transgenders

Karnataka government has introduced reservations for the third gender in the state. With this the state becomes the first in the country to reserve jobs for the alternate gender people. The state has amended the Karnataka Civil Services (General Recruitment) Rules, 1977 to provide for 1% horizontal reservation for transgenders.

The state government’s amendment of its recruitment rules was a result of a legal challenge to its recruitment of police constables on the ground that it excluded a separate category for transgender persons on a par with men and women. The state government sought to fill up 2,672 posts – including 2,420 vacancies to the post of Special Reserve Constable Force and 252 Bandsmen posts. The notification calling for filling up of these posts mentioned age, weight and other specifications pertaining to only men and women, in total disregard of transgender persons.

A draft notification issued on May 13 proposed to amend Rule 9 for the purpose. The proposed amendment to Rule 9 Sub Rule (1D) was inserted to provide for 1% of vacancies to be filled in any service or post by the state government from among the transgender candidates in each category of general, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and in each of the categories among the Other Backward Classes.

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