New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre, NCERT, and six states including Maharashtra on a PIL seeking incorporation of transgender-inclusive comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in school curricula.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran noted submissions of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the petitioner, and issued notices to the respondents asking for their replies within eight weeks.

Aside from the Centre and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), petitioner Kaavya Mukherjee Saha included Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka as parties to the petition.

The PIL, filed by Saha, a Class XII student, urged the incorporation of transgender-inclusive CSE in school curricula and textbooks prepared by NCERT and State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERT).

The plea said NCERT and most SCERTs have failed to comply with the top court's directions in the NALSA v. Union of India case. Despite statutory obligations under Sections 2(d) and 13 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, the councils allegedly neglected to integrate structured and examinable content on gender identity, gender diversity, and the distinction between sex and gender into school syllabi.

Textbook reviews across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka reportedly revealed systemic omissions, with Kerala being a partial exception. The exclusion, it said, violates fundamental rights and undermines Directive Principles of State Policy.

The plea sought directions to incorporate "scientifically accurate, age-appropriate" and transgender-inclusive CSE into examinable school syllabi nationwide, and to frame binding guidelines for effective implementation of gender sensitisation and transgender-inclusive sexuality education across all public and private educational institutions.