Are transgender women also entitled to benefits under the Domestic Violence Act?

Answering this question, the Bombay High Court has said that there is no room for doubt that a transgender person after sex change will be considered to be the same sex as he has chosen.That's why a transgender woman who has changed her gender from a man to a woman will be considered as a woman.She will also be entitled to the same relief as any other woman under the Domestic Violence Act.                                According to the case, a person was born as a male, underwent a sex change surgery and became a female after undergoing a sex change.This person became a woman by changing gender and married a man.After a dispute between husband and wife, the transgender woman started living separately from her husband.,This transgender wife, living separately, filed an application in the court and demanded an order for the husband to be given alimony.After considering the wife's application, the Sessions Court ordered payment of ₹ 12000 per month as maintenance to the estranged wife of the man.The woman said that she had become a woman by undergoing a sex change in 2016.In such a situation, she is entitled to relief under the Domestic Violence Act.The woman had applied for relief under the Domestic Violence Act itself.                                                                                             The woman's husband challenged the trial court's decision in the Bombay High Court.He said that his wife is a transgender, she has become a woman by changing her sex.Therefore, she is not entitled to relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.                                       Justice Amit Borkar's bench has said in its order that the word woman is not just limited to the form of woman and man.Rather, it also includes transgender persons who have changed their sex to become women,He said that there is no doubt that a transgender person will be treated as the ceiling of the gender that he has assumed after the change of gender.If someone assumes the gender of a woman, it is the duty of the court to ensure the protection of the rights of women who are victims of domestic violence.The High Court, making the above observations, dismissed the petition filed by the husband.Husband directed to pay alimony to wife as fixed by trial court.