Kerala High Court Orders Gender-Neutral Birth Certificate for Child of Transgender Parents

In a landmark ruling, the Kerala High Court directed authorities to issue a gender-neutral birth certificate listing a transgender couple as “parents” instead of “mother” and “father" on their child's birth certificate. 

Justice Ziyad Rahman passed the order on the plea of Zahhad (a transman) and Ziya Paval (a transwoman), Kerala’s first openly transgender parents. The original certificate had wrongly listed Zahhad as the mother and Ziya as the father.

The couple said this could lead to lifelong embarrassment for their child during official procedures like school admissions and ID proof.

They argued the denial violated their and their child’s fundamental rights, citing the Supreme Court’s NALSA judgment. The court directed a gender neutral certificate.