Allahabad High Court holds transgender woman outside 'woman' definition in BNS Section 69 while granting bail

Key facts

• The Allahabad High Court, in an October 15 order by Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal, held that a transgender woman who has undergone sex-reassignment surgery does not fall within the definition of 'woman' under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which criminalises sexual intercourse by deceitful means or false promise of marriage.
• The court ruled that a transgender person has a separate identity under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and that the word 'woman' in Section 69 of the BNS includes only a female human being.
• The observation came while granting bail to Mohd Sakir, accused of a physical relationship with a transgender woman on a false promise of marriage, in a case registered at Izzatnagar police station in Bareilly district.
• The complainant, in a relationship with the accused for over one-and-a-half years, alleged he took over ₹5 lakh from her and then refused to marry her.
• The informant stated she was assigned male at birth, underwent vulval reconstruction surgery on April 11, 2023, and had disclosed her transgender identity to the accused before the relationship.
• A medical panel report of August 19, 2026, cited by the accused's counsel, found the alleged victim was male with changed genital parts and without a uterus.
• The court noted the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs had recommended bringing transgender women within the rape provisions of the BNS, but Parliament did not accept the recommendation.
• The high court held that, prima facie, no offence under Section 69 of the BNS was made out and granted bail to the accused subject to conditions.