Tamil Nadu’s first man-transwoman marriage registered

Madurai: A man and a transwoman made it to the headlines in Tamil Nadu, after their marriage was registered, following a recent order by the Madurai bench of the Madras high court, upholding their marriage.

The couple — A Srija, 20, and B Arun Kumar, 23 —married last October at Sri Sankara Rameswarar temple, the rituals of which were performed according to Hindu customs.

The couple approached the District Registrar Office on Monday to get their marriage registered and are likely to receive their marriage certificate soon. Soon after they tied the knot, the couple were faced with legal and bureaucratic hurdles at the time of registration.

The sub-registrar allegedly refused to issue them their marriage certificate, citing lack of provisions in existing norms to formalise the marriage. They then approached the high court, which passed a significant judgment on April 22 upholding their marriage. It stated that discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation impairs equality before law.

Arun Kumar works as a contract worker with the railways and Srija is a second-year undergraduate student of English Literature at VO Chidambaram College.