India, Feb. 19 -- The Allahabad high court has held that a certificate issued by the district magistrate under Section 7 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 constitutes conclusive proof of a transgender person's gender and identity for the purpose of passport.

The court ruled that once such a certificate was granted, passport authorities cannot insist on a fresh medical examination or impose any additional requirements to verify an applicant's gender.

In an order passed on February 10, a bench of justices Atul Sreedharan and Siddharth Nandan said that once a transgender person has obtained a certificate of identity under Sections 5 and 6 of the Transgender Persons Act, and thereafter secured a revised certificate...