Kerala High Court Rules Transgender Student Cannot Join NCC Under Current Law

The Kerala High Court has held that a transgender student cannot be enrolled in the National Cadet Corps (NCC) under the present legal framework, noting that the NCC Act of 1948 only allows “students of the male sex” and “students of the female sex.”

Justice N. Nagaresh acknowledged that while transgender individuals deserve equal opportunity, creating a separate NCC division would require executive policy changes and legislative intervention.

The Court also directed the Registry to send a copy of its judgment to the Union Ministries of Defence and Law & Justice for their consideration.

[Janvin Cleetus v Union of India & ors]