The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ), under the Union Finance Ministry has approved a senior Hyderabad-based Indian Revenue Service ( IRS ) officer’s request to change both name and gender, marking a historic first in the Indian civil service.
M Anusuya, serving as Joint Commissioner in the regional bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal ( CESTAT ) in Hyderabad, sought to change her name to M Anukathir Surya and transition from female to male.
The Ministry of Finance accepted this request, issuing an order on July 9, stating, “The request of Ms M. Anusuya has been considered. Henceforth, the officer will be recognized as ‘Mr M. Anukathir Surya’ in all official records.”
The 35-year-old officer began his career as an Assistant Commissioner in Chennai in December 2013 and was promoted to Deputy Commissioner in 2018. Surya joined his current posting last year.
Surya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication from the Madras Institute of Technology in Chennai and completed a PG Diploma in Cyber Law and Cyber Forensics from the National Law Institute University in Bhopal in 2023.
This development follows nearly a decade after the landmark ruling of our Supreme Court in the NALSA case on April 15, 2014, which recognized the rights of transgender individuals.
The Apex court had emphasised that gender identity is a personal choice and ruled that this recognition applies regardless of whether an individual undergoes Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS).
The Supreme Court Judgment in NALSA Case had stated that, “If a person has changed his/her sex in tune with his/her gender characteristics and perception, which has become possible because of the advancement in medical science, and when that is permitted in medical ethics with no legal embargo, we do not find any impediment, legal or otherwise, in giving due recognition to the gender identity based on the reassigned sex after undergoing surgery.”
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