The Madras High Court has directed the Centre to explain why transgender persons should also not be allowed to adopt children especially in the light of a statutory obligation imposed on the government to secure full and effective participation of transgender persons and their inclusion in society.

The First Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan raised the query and granted time for Additional Solicitor General AR.L. Sundaresan to ensure that a counter affidavit was filed by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) by December 4, 2025.

Legal interpretation of ‘female’

B. Shama of Kolathur in Chennai had filed a writ petition urging the High Court to declare that the word ‘female,’ found in Section 7 of the Hindu Adoptions

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