- By Shubham Bajpai
- Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:47 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In a significant decision, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has ruled that the transgender community does not have the legal right to demand traditional greetings, commonly known as Neg, and doing so is a criminal offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The bench stated that any type of levy, tax, or fee can only be levied under the law and that there is no statutory authority to collect money in the name of greetings or jajmani, and therefore, it cannot be protected as a fundamental right. The court clearly stated that no person can be granted the right to collect money without a legal basis.
This judgment was passed by a bench of Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai while dismissing a petition filed by a transgender woman, Rekha Devi.
What's the case?
Rekha, a resident of the Karnailganj police station area of Gonda, had demanded that the area from Kati Ka Pul in Jarwal Town to Ghaghra Ghat and from the Saryu Bridge in Karnailganj be designated for her to collect Neg, as she had been collecting Neg there for the past several years.
She said that since other transgender people residing in the district also come to her area to ask for alms, this often leads to serious disputes among them.
The petitioner's advocate Sangeeta Verma argued that since her client has been asking for alms in the said areas for the past many years, due to which she has developed a traditional right, and the court should protect this right of hers.
After the hearing, the court dismissed the petition, stating that if the petitioner's contention were accepted, it would mean that the practice of "Bhagya Neg" would be recognised.
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The court said that even the law governing the rights of transgender persons, the Protection of Rights of Transgender Persons Act, 2019, does not contain any provisions that would legitimise such a demand. If such a demand were accepted, it could encourage illegal extortion and criminal activity.