No legal right: HC dismisses transgender's claim over ‘badhai’ or 'neg' territory

Lucknow: A Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday held that members of the transgender (kinnar) community do not have any legal right to demand traditional 'badhai' or 'neg' (customary monetary offerings).

The court observed that such collection of money may fall within the ambit of an offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The bench of Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai passed the order while dismissing a writ petition filed by Rekha Devi, a transgender resident of Gonda district. The petitioner sought demarcation of a specific territorial area for collecting 'neg', claiming she was exercising this practice in those areas for several years.

The petitioner requested the court to earmark a defined stretch — from Kati Ka Pul in Jarwal town to Ghaghra Ghat, and up to Saryu Bridge in Colonelganj — as her exclusive area for collecting 'badhai'.



It was argued that frequent disputes and violent clashes occur when other members of the community enter the same area, leading to law and order issues. The petitioner's counsel, Sangeeta Verma, contended that due to long-standing practice, the petitioner had acquired a traditional customary right, which deserved protection by the court.

Rejecting the plea, the bench held that any form of levy, tax or fee can only be collected under the authority of law.

The practice of collecting money in the name of 'badhai' or 'jajmani' has no legal sanction and cannot be protected as a fundamental right. The court made it clear that no individual can be permitted to extract money from others without a valid legal basis. The bench observed, "The extraction of money from any individual wilfully or otherwise cannot be permitted to be made and any citizen of this country can be directed to pay only such amounts of tax, cess or fee which can be legitimately extracted from such individuals in accordance with law."

The bench further noted that even the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, does not provide for any such right.