Man takes parents to court over sex change

Guwahati: A 21-year-old student from Guwahati who feels he is a woman trapped in man's body, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking to restrain his parents from interfering with his decision to undergo a sex change operation.

Bidhan Barua, who likes to call himself Swati, has alleged that his parents had thwarted the sex reassignment surgery which was scheduled to be performed at Saifee hospital in Guwahati on April 17. He said his parents threatened the doctors who have now refused to perform the operation unless the High Court gives a go ahead.

Barua has contended in his application that he is female trapped in a male body and wants to marry a flight lieutenant in the Indian Air Force.

The petition was mentioned by Barua's advocate Ejaz Naqvi who told the bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah that the parents of the man had got his bank account frozen and were infringing upon his fundamental rights.

Being a major, the petitioner is capable of taking decisions, such as the sex change operation, his lawyer said.

The bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice N M Jamdar assigned the matter to the bench of Justices SF Vajifdar and AR Joshi which will hear the matter on April 30.

Barua has contended in the petition that he realised early in life that he was born in the wrong sex and preferred to dress like girls. This angered his parents who mistreated him and beat him up.

Barua said it was in seventh standard that he learnt through the internet that medical science could provide a remedy to his problem through a sex change procedure and he decided to go for it. He did small jobs after school hours to earn money for the operation which would cost him anywhere between Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.

On March 2 this year, Barua underwent a psychiatric test in Guwahati to check whether he was fit enough to undergo such procedure. As the result was positive, he ran away from home on March 31 and came to Mumbai where he stayed with his cousin. However, his father Supti Ranjan Barua traced him to Mumbai.

Barua, the youngest of three children in the family, said his father had threatened to kill him and his Air Force officer boyfriend if he underwent the sex reassignment procedure. He alleged that his father even threatened the doctors with dire consequences and asked them not to perform the operation.

Supti Barua, who is all set to oppose the petition, said he would take an appropriate stand in the High Court.