Transgender teacher removed from services due to sexual orientation moves SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea of a transgender person whose services as teacher were terminated by two private schools of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh after her sexual orientation became known to employers.
"We will see what we can do," said a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwla and Manoj Misra while issuing notices to the Centre, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh governments on the plea of the transgender woman.
Besides the government, the top court also sought responses from head of the school in Jamnagar in Gujarat and the chairperson of another private school based at Khiri in Uttar Pradesh.
"The grievance of the petitioner is that her services were terminated in schools of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat after her gender identity was revealed. The petitioner says that she cannot pursue her remedies in two different high courts," the bench said and fixed the plea for hearing after four weeks.
The counsel appearing for the transgender person said she was given a letter of appointment in an Uttar Pradesh school and also taught for six days before being removed.
In Gujarat school, she was given the letter of appointment and later denied the opportunity to join after her sexual identity was known, the lawyer said.
The petitioner seeks enforcement of her fundamental rights.
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No 'bacterial infection' found in bodies of 4 Mumbai family members who died after eating watermelon
Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.
After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.
As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.
"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.
The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.
"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.
