Manipur High Court Backs Beoncy Laishram: Northeast’s First Transgender Doctor Secures Identity in Historic Ruling

Beoncy Laishram, Northeast India's first transgender doctor, won a pivotal Manipur High Court case on August 20, 2025, securing the right to update her academic and professional certificates to reflect her female identity. Justice A. Guneshwar Sharma ordered the Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BOSEM), Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur (COHSEM), Manipur University, and Manipur Medical Council to issue new documents within one month, replacing her birth name, Boboi Laishram, and male gender with Beoncy Laishram and female.

“It’s a huge relief,” Beoncy said, reacting to the court’s decision.

Beoncy, 32, from Imphal West, became the region’s first transgender medical graduate in 2018. After undergoing gender reassignment surgery on October 8, 2019, she obtained a transgender certificate under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and updated her Aadhaar, Voter ID, and PAN card. When educational authorities refused to amend her academic records in February 2024, she filed a legal petition.

Beoncy’s lawyer, Jayna Kothari, cited sections 5, 6, and 7 of the 2019 Act, ensuring transgender individuals’ rights to self-identified gender recognition in official documents. The court mandated these provisions apply to all relevant regulations in Manipur.

The ruling clears barriers for Beoncy’s medical career, particularly her aspirations in surgery or gynecology. Transgender rights activist Santa Khurai praised the verdict, stating, “This judgment is going to serve the entire transgender community who are still struggling and facing challenges in changing their names and gender in official documents.”

Dr. Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, among India’s first transgender doctors, is also a well-known activist and actor who has played a leading role in advocating for transgender rights, both socially and legally.

She is advocating for inclusive hostel accommodations through a Public Interest Litigation in the Karnataka High Court. After legally updating her name and gender following the NALSA judgment, she was denied access to girls’ hostels during her medical studies. Her PIL asserts that such exclusion violates rights to equality, dignity, and education under the 2019 Act. “The law gives us the right to self-identify, but if institutions don’t respect that, it’s a hollow victory,” Trinetra has said, pushing for systemic change.

(Rh/Eth/MKB/MSM)