Allahabad High Court rules Section 69 BNS does not cover transgender women

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a transgender woman cannot invoke Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which penalizes sexual relationships established through a false promise of marriage. Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal held that the term ‘woman’ as used in Section 69 refers exclusively to a female human being.

The ruling follows a bail plea by a man accused of maintaining a relationship with a transgender woman for over 18 months before allegedly refusing to marry her and taking ₹5 lakh. The court noted that under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, transgender individuals maintain a distinct legal identity. The court clarified that even after sex reassignment surgery, a person remains legally transgender rather than becoming a male or female human being.

While Section 69 of the BNS does not apply, the court emphasized that transgender persons can seek legal recourse for sexual abuse under Section 18(d) of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which provides for imprisonment of up to two years for such offenses.