The petition sought the survey to be discontinued altogether, arguing it violates the fundamental rights to equality and liberty. (Source: File)The Karnataka government has told the High Court that no transgender persons were strip-searched or forced to undergo verification during last year’s Gender Minority Survey, and that the question of a public apology “does not arise.”In an affidavit filed before the court, the government said the survey was carried out “in a healthy environment maintaining dignity of the transgenders,” and rejected the demand for a compensation and rehabilitation fund.What the government says happenedAccording to the state, the survey was conducted sensitively at Taluk and District Government Hospitals, with separate private rooms provided for respondents. No one was compelled to answer questions they didn’t want to, and the process was carried out by trained transgender persons.The government also said the right to self-determination of gender identity was fully respected and that there was no medical examination, no forced identification, and participation was entirely voluntary.Background to the caseThe affidavit was filed in response to a public interest litigation by the Anita Humanitarian Foundation, filed in October 2025, which alleged that transgender persons were being subjected to strip searches at hospitals as part of the identification process, carried out by other transgender individuals. The High Court had intervened on October 16, 2025, when it passed an interim order barring the government from using strip searches for identification purposes during the survey.The petition sought the survey to be discontinued altogether, arguing it violates the fundamental rights to equality and liberty. It also asks that any data collected so far be securely deleted rather than shared with third parties, and seeks both compensation for those who underwent strip searches and a public apology for what it calls an “illegal, invasive and unconstitutional” process.Government’s counter on consultation and legalityRejecting claims that the survey was launched without community input, the government said it was first announced in the 2020-21 Budget Speech and rolled out through the Karnataka State Women Development Corporation (KSWDC), with the questionnaire developed in consultation with NGOs working with the transgender community. It called the allegation of inadequate consultation and Article 21 violation “completely misconceived.”Story continues below this adThe state also pointed to its record on the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and accompanying 2020 Rules, noting that 4,689 Transgender Identity Certificates and Identity Cards have been issued so far.On data useThe government maintained that survey data is used solely for welfare planning, stored with confidentiality safeguards, and that only aggregated numerical data — not personal information — is used in analysis. It denied that the exercise violates Article 21 or runs contrary to the Supreme Court’s NALSA v. Union of India judgment, calling the allegations of discrimination or harassment baseless since no individual data is made public.