In a landmark decision, the Indian government has permitted a woman IRS officer, M. Anusuya, to officially change her name to M. Anukathir Surya and her gender from female to male. This marks the first known instance of a sex change within the Indian Civil Services.
M. Anukathir Surya, currently serving as a Joint Commissioner in the regional bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in Hyderabad, has been recognized as male in all official records following the Ministry of Finance’s acceptance of his request.
The order issued on July 9th, 2024, states, “The request of Ms M. Anusuya has been considered. Henceforth, the officer will be recognised as ‘Mr M. Anukathir Surya’ in all official records.”
This decision holds significant weight as it paves the way for greater inclusivity within the civil service system. Surya, a 35-year-old officer, joined his current posting at CESTAT last year. He began as an Assistant Commissioner in Chennai in 2013 and, within 5 years, rose to become a Deputy Commissioner there before joining the job market.” This new position was informed by his postgraduate diploma in Cyber Law and Cyber Forensics received from the National Law Institute University in Bhopal in 2023 which built off his Electronics and Communication Engineering foundation course taken at Madras Institute Technology (Chennai)
The Supreme Court’s decision about the NAL vs SA (National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India) case in 2014 helped to facilitate this conclusion. case. It declared the third gender and made the concept of gender identity a personal choice not necessitating Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS).
The government’s action illustrates an increasing recognition of the concept of gender identity as a range rather than a binary construct, sets a precedent for future cases, and represents an important milestone towards recognizing and upholding the rights of transgender individuals within the Indian government. Although the long-term implications of this decision are still unclear, it is unquestionably an excellent move towards inclusivity and equal treatment within the civil service.
