200 Citizens Urge Pune Police Commissioner to Withdraw Order Prohibiting Transgender Persons from Begging Imposed Under Section 144 of CrPC
200 Citizens Urge Pune Police Commissioner to Withdraw Order Prohibiting Transgender Persons from Begging Imposed Under Section 144 of CrPC (Representational pic)
The order prohibits transgender people from begging, visiting auspicious occasions and restricts their basic social mobility. It is an order under Section 144 of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure).
19 April 2024
Over 200 concerned citizens wrote to Pune’s police commissioner Amitesh Kumar opposing the orders he issued and enforced against transgender persons. This came into effect on 10th April 2024.
The order prohibits transgender people from begging, visiting auspicious occasions and restricts their basic social mobility. It is an order under Section 144 of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure). Restrictions invoked by this order sparked a debate over its legal and ethical implications. This move, reminiscent of colonial-era prejudices, has raised constitutional concerns regarding the criminalisation of poverty as a consequence of it.
Letters and emails which reached the commissioner were a domino initiated by an organisation which fights for the rights of the LGBTQI+ community called ‘Yes, We Exist’. They created a template, which was circulated and sent by over 200 concerned Pune residents, within a day’s time.
Citizens have emphasised the order’s impact and association with socio-economic hardships more so than criminal intent, by contending the very existence and effect of it. In the email, they mentioned facts highlighting the grave miscarriage of justice, as articulated in several cases which deem begging being banned as an unconstitutional measure.
The case of Harsh Mander vs Union of India, AlR 2018 Del 188 of the Delhi High Court is one that directs law enforcers to prevent the violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution, guaranteeing every citizen the right to equality before the law and the right to life and personal liberty, respectively. This order is also in direct violation of The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which has always afforded equal rights and legal recognition to the ‘third gender’.
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The violation of this order may be penalised with criminal culpability, which points to the fact that begging would be criminalised in the city for not only transgender persons but other persons as well. Initiatives against the transgender community such as these not only send society down a regressive spiral but endanger their lives and livelihoods. This regression takes years to battle, making these communities vulnerable and exposing them to high rates of police harassment and violence.
Since the order was issued without consulting any individual from the community, matters concerning them need to be addressed. Jeet, a member of Yes, We Exist, updates that the mail sent to the Police Commissioner has not received any response.
In accordance with this order, participation of transgender persons in events is considered offensive and unlawful, under Section 144 CrPC and various others of the IPC. These laws prevent society from dangerous elements, hence, this order implicates transgender individuals as “dangerous elements”. This further incriminates them for the same reasons under the same definitions and provisions for dangerous elements. It ignites discrimination, transphobia, disparity, inequality in spaces and casteism, which already persists throughout the country.
The email urges the government to take positive initiatives such as establishing a Transgender Protection Cell, nominating an official to monitor cases of crimes against transgender persons, creating self-help groups, assistance in procuring bank loans, etc. All of this can be a collaborative effort from the Pune Police’s end.
